


Stockholm Syndrome

by Badi_otaku



Category: Far Cry 3
Genre: Angst and Humor, Blood, Explicit Sexual Content, F/M, Killing, Psychological Torture, Romance, Torture
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-02-22
Updated: 2018-02-28
Packaged: 2018-05-22 15:03:50
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 27
Words: 64,696
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6084174
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Badi_otaku/pseuds/Badi_otaku
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Psychological phenomenon in which hostages express empathy and sympathy and have positive feelings toward their captors, sometimes to the point of defending and identifying with them.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> So, this is work that I posted on fanfiction.net more than a year ago. I'm not so happy with my writing style in the first chapters but I thinks I improved it with the time. I'll post one chapter a week (they're already written). Just so you know, I put a few lines of dialog in foreign languages (Spanish and French), in order for you to understand them, I wrote the translations that way: *translation*.  
> Anyways, here we go! Hope you enjoy!

**-Hola, chica. ¿Has descansado bien?** The man said quietly while she tried to wake-up. Anda, despertate. He kept saying.

***Hello, chica. Did you sleep well?* *Come on, wake up.***

When she managed to regain full consciousness, the first thing she saw was two wonderful green eyes. She was inevitably attracted by their depth. She was admiring them. But her thoughts were interrupted by finger snaps.

**-¿Chica? ¿Estás conmigo?** He called her.

***Chica? Are you with me?***

She realized her situation. She saw the man who was squat in front of her. She felt her tied hands above her head, the rope which was burning her wrists. She remembered what happened before: the beach, the pirates, the knockdown, the blackout. She has been kidnapped. A shiver of fear ran through her whole body when the man took her chin with his rough hand. She quickly turned her head to avoid facing him. He insisted and forced her to raise her head.

**-Shhhh, look at me.** He said quietly.

He was staring at her face. He was exploring each feature of her face. Her deep blue eyes, her fine nose, her luscious lips, her beautiful blond hair.

**-Hermosa…** He marveled.

She was embarrassed. She didn’t know this man. She didn’t want to be touched by this man. Despite his rather ordinary appearance, he was creepy. He wore a Mohawk. He had a scary scar running up the left side of his skull. He wore a dirty red tank top, green trousers and black rangers. Two hand guns and a hunting knife were hanging on his belt.

He released his grip, stood up and took something in his back pocket. She noticed it was her passport. He was reading it, pacing back and forth in front of the girl sitting on the floor.

**-So, Emilie Durand, from France, huh?** He looked at her. **Huh?** She didn’t answer. **You have lost your tongue, Mademoiselle?** He teased. **Anyway,** he continued, **eighteen years old, hum, well, the young ones can be sold for lots of money.**

**-S-sold?** Emilie started to panic.

He pretended to be sorry.

**-Oh shit, I just ruined the surprise. Too bad!**

**-You sell human beings? It's awful! You're heartless!**

**-No, no, no, I’m a business man!**

He approached her, leaned over her and gently caressed her cheek with the back of his fingers.

**-And you, you’re going to make me lots of money.** He smirked. **Tu es une très jolie jeune fille. He said in French.**

***You’re a very pretty girl.***

He stood up and continued to speak for himself.

**-Sinceramente, tengo muchas ganas de mantenerte para mí solo.**

***Honestly, I really want to keep you for myself.***

**-¡No soy un objeto, libérame, hijo de puta!** She shouted.

***I’m not an object, release me, you son of a bitch!***

He was surprised. He turned around to face her.

**-¿Hablas español? ¡Que sorpresa! Tienes muchas cualidades.**

***You speak Spanish? What a surprise! You’ve many qualities.***

His mood suddenly changed: he grabbed a fist of her hair and pulled, she groaned in pain.

**-But don’t try to disrespect me again, perra, otherwise I rip your head off, has comprendido?**

Emilie nodded. She didn’t want to anger him further. He released his grip and she lowered her head. He started to ask her few questions.

**-So, height? Weight? Measurements?**

She didn’t answer; this kind of things didn’t concern him! He started to be annoyed by her silence; he took one of his guns and aimed it at Emilie’s head.

**-If you don’t help me, it won’t work, so be a nice bitch and answer me!**

Emilie was shaking with fear, she saw the barrel of the gun pointed at her, and she didn’t want to die.

**-Height?**

**-5’6”.**

She gave in.

**-Weight?**

**-132 lbs.**

**-Measurements?**

It was the most intrusive question that she has been asked ever, she wasn’t even sure she knew it. However, she answered.

**-40 C, 25”, 30”.**

**-Wow, it’s quite tempting.** He responded with a smirk.

She was terribly embarrassed by his comment. But not as embarrassed as when he asked the next question.

**-Are you a virgin?**

She even doubted that she heard well.

**-What?** She asked.

**-I’m asking you if your little pussy has already been fucked!**

The vulgarity of his sentence shocked her a bit, she answered, barely audible.

**-I-I’m a v-virgin.**

**-There, that wasn’t so hard, was that? Is there another thing to add? Sickness, whatever?**

**-No.**

He turned around and exited the bamboo cage where they were. Another man called him, approaching him. He wore a shirt with a suite jacket and jeans. He had a golden chain around his neck.

**-Vaas? Have you finished with the French girl?** The new man asked with a thick south-African accent.

**-Yeah.** **She told me everything, I guess.** The pirate answered.

**-How much you think we can demand?**

**-Three million easily, maybe more.**

The man with the Mohawk gave the other a clipboard, he took it, adding:

**-I like when it goes like this.** The two sneered.

So she will indeed be sold, three million? She had the impression that her body didn’t belong to her anymore. She wanted to hide. To hide in a hole where anyone could find her and stay there forever. She felt undressed. She felt weak and vulnerable.

**-When I find a buyer, I will come here to bring her to the south, it wouldn’t be so long. In the meantime, you do whatever you want but don’t damage the merchandise.** The man in the suit said before leaving.

**-Don’t worry, I’ll be careful.** The other replied.

He then started to leave too but Emilie called him by what seemed to be his name.

**-Vaas?**

He turned and looked at her.

**-What?**

**-W-Where are t-they?**

**-Who?**

**-Where are my sisters?**

She asked gently not to irritate him.

**-Sisters? You talk about the two chicas who were with you?**

She nodded. A smirk appeared on the pirate’s lips.

**-Don’t worry; I haven’t killed them, not yet.**

To these words, he left for good. She started to worry. Worry about her two sisters. All the three had been kidnapped by those pirates. But she was alone, locked in this cage, like an animal. She was hungry, she was thirsty, and the sun was burning her skin. Her whole body was hurting. Her clothes were dirty. She couldn’t do anything. She wanted to cry but she didn’t manage.

She finally fell asleep, thinking about her family, her home, what she wouldn’t give for going home? To exit this hell?


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, I decided to give you another chapter today! Anyway, I have them already written, so I think I'll post one every day, or every other day. Hope you enjoy it!

_**-We should arrive soon, guys, you'll see, it's worth it!** He said while he was driving the boat._

_**-Are you sure you, Doug? Because we see nothing!** I replied, looking over the horizon._

_**-Yes there, there is something!** Jake added; pointing what seemed to be an island._

_**-Yeah, that's it guys. This is Rook Island, paradise on Earth!** Doug stated._

_**-Here we go!! Woohoo!** Ryan shouted, raising his arms._

_We were on the boat that sailed all paces to the island, to adventure. There were my two sisters, two boys we had met yesterday at a party and Doug, the DJ of the party who had told us about this island. An island where everything was permitted, where we could do whatever we wanted._

_Despite our prohibitions, my little sister had insisted on coming with us (not to say that she made a scene). Anyway, I didn’t care about her, we have already accepted that she come with us on vacation, I wasn’t going to let her ruin it as well._

_We were now on the beach; we enjoyed the sun, the land scape, the clear water of the ocean. I felt the sand slipping between my toes, the little breeze caressing my face gently. We drank, danced, and laughed. We were imagining we were alone in the world. We were imagining we were the masters of the world._

_Until a gunshot was heard. Ryan fell to the ground, a bloody hole in the head. Panic seized us, everything went so fast. Men arrived from nowhere, screaming. I couldn’t see my sisters. Jake fell in turn. The screams and gunfire tore the silence of the cove. I heard a man shouting orders._

_**-Don’t kill the girls, coños, we need them alive!** _

_In no time, my vision became blurred; I felt an extreme pain in my head. And then nothing, all went silent._

Emilie woke with a start. A nightmare. No, a memory. She began to wonder; why the hell did she follow this boy, Doug? He seemed nice; he promised great things, he promised paradise. Result? It was hell. What idiot!

She then took her time to consider her situation and possibly develop a plan to escape. She wasn’t attached to the cage anymore. But she was still alone. It was dark; the soft light of the moon didn’t allow her to see beyond the cage. She could however distinguish a figure approaching. She knew who it was when she heard him say:

**-Ah, la chica is awake.**

Vaas stood in front of her, crouched and handed her something between the bars.

**-Here, I brought you something to eat. It was a bowl of rice.**

She didn’t move; she stared into his eyes, hesitating to take what he gave her.

**-You don’t want that? Maybe you prefer meat; I have a nice piece between my legs if you want.** He joked with a lecherous smile.

His words disgusted her. She still was hesitating, but her stomach ordered her to eat. She gave in quickly. She grabbed the bowl and ate its contents. When she had finished, he stated:

**-And what do you say if you are well-mannered?**

**-T-thank you.** She had no desire to thank this man, but as he was unpredictable and he gets angry easily, she preferred to obey.

**-Good.** He said with a grin.

He sat up and opened the cage door, went up to her, took her arm to lift her and get her out of the cage with him.

**-Where are we going?** She asked hesitantly.

**-You told me you had two sisters?**

She nodded. Was he leading her to them? She followed him without flinching. He clutched her arm tightly. When they arrived at the middle of the camp, a pirate stopped them.

**-Vaas, we need you over there, it's urgent.**

Vaas sighed and dropped Emilie’s arm. He began to follow the pirate who was leaving and said to the girl:

**-Don’t move, I'll be back soon, chica.**

What? He left like that, alone, without being attached, without being watched? There was hardly anyone to see her; the black of the night was covering the place. If she ran, nobody would see her. It was the perfect opportunity. But she thought again. No, she couldn’t leave without her sisters. She then heard a scream.

**-Eh! Y a quelqu’un? Détachez-nous bande d’enfoirés!**  
***Hey! Is there someone, Release us, you cocksuckers!***

It was her, Julie, her big sister; Emilie would recognize her voice among a thousand. Without lingering longer, the girl ran to join the source of the cry. She came to a stage. There were Julie and Iris, both attached to poles. They seemed to have been beaten and mistreated, as Emilie was, she guessed. Iris was motionless, her head hanging forward as if she couldn’t hold it. When Julie saw her sister, her hope was reborn. She whispered so that she couldn’t be heard.

**-Emilie, oh mon dieu, t’es là, libère-nous, vite avant qu’ils reviennent.**  
***Emilie, oh my God, you’re here, untie us, quick before they come back.***

Emilie was petrified, she watched her sisters, she… hesitated? Why? She had a chance to run away with them, to escape this hell. But she was thinking about Vaas, if they were caught trying to escape, he would kill them, for sure.

**-Qu’est-ce que t’attends putain? Grouille, Em!**  
***What the fuck are you waiting for? Quick, Em!***

Live as a slave, or die with a bullet in the head? That was the question that revolved in Emilie’s head.

**-Well, well. I see that the family is complete, poignant reunion.** A male’s voice joked behind her.

Vaas. Julie saw him approaching her sister from behind. A look of despair appeared on her face. Emilie was still motionless. He was behind her, close, she felt him. A cold shudder ran through her whole body when he laid his hands on her frail shoulders. She closed her eyes and breathed. She could no longer escape. He put his mouth close to her ear and whispered to her:

**-Tu me les présentes?**  
***Would you introduce them?***

She didn’t answer. Her breathing quickened, her heart was beating in her chest as if it would explode. He removed his hand and took her wrist to bring her closer to the two hostages. He stopped in front of Iris. The face of the girl was contorted with terror at the sight of the pirate. He put a lock of her hair behind her ear before asking:

**-What's your name, niña? How old are you?**

She was silent. Emilie saw the anger growing in Vaas. She replied:

**-This is Iris, she is fourteen.**

He turned to the blonde with a surprised look on his face and said, his lips curling into a smile:

**-I wasn’t asking you, but thank you anyway,**

He paced his fingertips along her jawline, adding with a seductive voice:

**-Querida.**

'Querida'? A new nickname. Emilie was a little angry, she wasn’t his 'sweetheart'! She was suddenly snapped out of her thoughts when Vaas took her arm to make her move. They were now in front of Julie. She was afraid of Vaas, but she tried not to show it. She resisted.

**-Release my sister, asshole!** She shouted spitting in his face.

He wiped his face before adding sarcastically:

**-You're a very nice girl.**

He suddenly grabbed her neck with one hand and began to squeeze. Julie was suffocating, she writhed in pain. She felt her life getting away from her body while the pirate tightened more and more, smiling sadistically.

**-Stop it! Vaas, stop!** Emilie cried.

He did nothing. She grabbed his muscular arm and stared into his eyes.

**-Stop, I’m begging you!**

He stopped dead. Julie tried to catch her breath, she was coughing.

**-You're right, I have a better idea, come!** He said, getting her a little away from both girls.

He then placed her in front of them, took out a gun from his belt, loaded, disabled security and put it in Emilie’s hands. She didn’t understand. Why did he give her that? She would unfortunately find it out very soon.

He stood behind the blonde; he put his hands on hers. Their bodies were bonded to one another. Emilie could feel his animal breath on her neck. They had their arms outstretched. They held in their hands the gun aimed to her sisters. He began to explain, in a low whisper:

**-So, Querida, I want you to choose which of the two... will die and I want you to put a fucking bullet in her skull.**

Emilie couldn’t help but gesticulating to escape the pirate. She was sobbing. How could he ask her to do such a thing? He was a monster. She wouldn’t, she couldn’t. He tightened his grip on her body and whispered in her ear.

**-Shhhh, don’t worry, it's easy, I'll help you.**

**-No, let me go, I can’t, stop, _sale monstre_!** She was screaming and crying.  
***fucking monster!***

**-Calm down, everything's fine.** He continued to whisper softly.

But seeing that she didn’t stop, he got angry and shouted:

**-Eh! Shut the fuck up! OK? Shut the fuck up your fucking mouth!**

She immediately stopped, she was too afraid of him to resist him.

**-That's good, nice girl.** He spoke as if he was talking to a dog. He continued: **So, did you make your choice?**

He was moving the gun from side to side.

**-Her, or her...?**

Julie and Iris were frightened, terrified. Julie shouted to her sister:

**-Arrête, Em, fais pas ça!**  
***Stop, Em, don’t do this!***

Of course she didn’t want to do it. But she couldn’t escape. He was holding her firmly. He also had his finger on the trigger and pressed more and more. The shot was going. She had no choice. Or rather one: Iris or Julie.

At this time, she thought something horrible: she didn’t want to kill her big sister, she couldn’t see her die, and she couldn’t live without her. So, by default ... She pointed the gun at her little sister who was sobbing loudly. Vaas was pressing stronger. Emilie felt her heart exploded in her chest. She was going to do it; she was going to kill her own sister. She closed her eyes, turned her head and fired.

BANG!

She fired. She slowly opened her eyes and looked up to watch the lifeless body of Iris. Vaas departed Emilie to see the bullet hole in the middle of the bloody forehead of the victim.

**-Boom! Headshot!** He shouted applauding.

Emilie was still standing there, the gun still in her hand. Julie, who had witnessed the whole scene was shocked, she stared at her sister. She didn’t do it, it wasn’t possible! Emilie didn’t know where she was. She tried to gather her ideas. She tried to organize her thoughts and to contain her emotions. Anxiety, fear, excitement; all the feelings imaginable crossed at that time. All, unless one: sadness. She wasn’t even a little sad, why? Her sister was dead by her hands! Was she becoming a monster too?

Vaas retrieved his gun and left the place, holding Emilie by the waist.

**-Clean up that mess.** He ordered some of his men.

He took her back to her cage. She didn’t resist, she did nothing but follow him. She was still in shock, a blank look in her eyes. Once there, he pushed her inside, closed the door and went away, saying with a joyful tone:

**-See you later, Querida.**

When he was gone, she sat in a corner of her prison, brought her knees to her chest, she buried her head in her arms, and started to sob like a little girl.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here we go, chapter 2 done. I tried to fix some mistakes I made when I wrote this, but as I said, I made it a long time ago and God I was awful at writing! Anyways, if you liked it, please feel free to leave a comment! See you next time!  
> Badi-otaku.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Before starting, I wanted to thank the guest who left kudos for the first two chapters. I also wanted to warn you, there will be violence in this chapter!

That morning, Emilie was awakened by screams.

**-I told you: not the young girl, Vaas, shit!**

**-She fucking kill her, anyway she was already half dead!**

The two men were a few meters from the cage. She recognized the voices: Vaas and the guy with the golden chain.

**-Tell me at least that the parents had already paid.**

**-OK. Well, I go back to work in the south, don’t fuck up with the second one, okay?**

The man started to leave, sighing.

 **-Yeah, it’s okay, Hoyt. Oh and, what do I do with the first one?** The pirate asked.

 **-Whatever you want, she is worthless.** The other replied, looking over his shoulder.

A mean smile appeared on Vaas lips, he would have fun.

Emilie was still sitting on the floor, in the cage. The burning sunlight, thirst and fatigue were killing her slowly. Her vision was blurred. She distinguished Vaas’s silhouette walking towards her. He now stood before her. She tried to speak a few words:

**-W-water...**

He smiled. He saw her dying in her prison, he loved it. But he wanted more, he wanted her to beg.

 **-How do you ask politely?** He sneered.

She was silent. On the one hand, she was tired of always give in to his orders, to obey him like a little dog, to swallow her esteem before him. But on the other hand, she would die of thirst, is life not worth that sacrifice? At the same time, death would allow her to escape this hell she knew she would never leave. She said nothing. He began to get impatient. He took the bottle hanging from his belt, opened it and began to slowly pour its contents on the floor, before Emilie’s eyes.

**-You don’t want that? It's a shame...**

Oh well!

**-I’m begging you, give some water, please!**

He stopped with a satisfied smile on his lips. He entered the cage and gave the bottle to Emilie who hastened to take it and drink the precious liquid it contained. A little water remained in the bottle, she didn’t waste a drop. Vaas exulted; he gently stroked her hair, saying:

**-Bien, eres una bonita perra.**   
***Good, you're a nice bitch.***

It was exactly what Emilie feared. She wasn’t his bitch, fuck off! Didn’t he know about human dignity!?

When she finished, she threw him the object she was holding.

**-Vas te faire foutre!**   
***Fuck you!***

**-Ha, you take it like that? I try to be kind, generous, and you thank me by insulting me? Is that the education they give you, in France?**

She had angered him. He pulled her by the hair, lifted her and said in her ear:

 **-I love to see you crawling to my feet, I love to see you suffer, I love to see you beg me, I love to see you cry...** He continued with a sensual voice: **it turns me on.**

She suffered; she stared at his green eyes. She wanted to strangle him, slaughter him, skin him. She wanted to scream all the rage she had in her. Cry all her fear and anxiety. But she did nothing. This was what he wanted, she wouldn’t give him this pleasure, she would resist, she wouldn’t give in, she wouldn’t give in anymore.

He brought her out of the cage, still pulling on her hair. He tied her hands behind her back, waking up burns which were already on her wrists. He took her to a cabin, threatening her with a gun. Along the way, the pirates looked. They saw her dirty and ripped clothes that hid almost nothing of her body. They hissed, staring at her with an evil look, giggled behind her back. She decided not to pay attention, otherwise she wouldn’t be able to contain herself.

They entered an almost empty and fairly dark room. The walls and floor were made of concrete. One small window provided day light to the room. There was only a chair in the center, full of blood, as was the ground. Several metal tools were placed on a table, surely tools of torture. Chains were hanging on the walls and ceiling. The atmosphere was more than scary.

Vaas threw Emilie on the chair. He chained her on to it by the wrists and ankles. She couldn’t move. She made no attempt to try to free herself; she knew it would be useless. He began to walk around her like a predator around its prey.

**-So, you disrespect me, huh?**

He stopped in front of her. He then slapped her strongly on the cheek. The force of the blow caused her to lean to the side. She spat the blood she had in her mouth, straightened up and began to stare into his eyes. No complaints, no whining, no cry. She wouldn’t satisfy his sadism, she wouldn’t scream, wouldn’t cry. Understanding her intention, Vaas said:

**-So you want to play this game? Okay, let's play!**

He took a packet of cigarettes from his pocket, pulled out and lit one. He inhaled and blew smoke on Emilie’s face, she coughed. He was still walking around her in circles.

 **-What am I gonna do with you? There are so many choices; I don’t know where to start.** He said sarcastically.

He put the burning cigarette on the young woman’s forearm. She winced a little, but nothing more. He leaned his face close to hers and whispered:

**-Suffer... I love it...**

She didn’t move. She just stared at him with a hateful look. He stopped what he was doing and approached the table where were the tools. He ran his hand from right to left, pretending to choose one.

**-You see, the problem is that I mustn’t damage you too much. And this is really fucking annoying.**

He took a knife. He repositioned himself in front of her, brandishing the blade and said with a smile:

 **-Well, where do I start?** He gently slid the blade along Emilie’s jawline. **Don’t worry, I won’t touch your pretty face, it is worth far too much money.** He continued with a calm tone.

He then began to lacerate the young woman’s thigh. She felt her skin open under the cold edge of the blade. A burning pain seized her body. Her muscles contracted, she gritted her teeth while her flesh was torn. She let out a muffled groan. She did her best not to scream in agony. Vaas lost no crumb of the spectacle presented by Emilie’s face. He stopped. He looked at his work, leaving a gaping wound from which was flowing the bright red liquid.

He put back the knife on the table. Emilie breathed out softly, closing her eyes. A tear rolled down her cheek. Her blood stained her shorts already soiled by dust and sweat.

 **-You are resistant; it makes me want to make you scream even more. Be patient, you'll see; I'll make you regret coming to the world.** He said, sticking his tongue out between his teeth.

He then took a pair of pliers. He approached the young woman. He showed her the object he had in his hands.

 **-Do you know what this object is used for?** He asked devilishly.

 **\- ¿Para castrar los hijos de puta como tú?** She replied mockingly.  
***To castrate a son of a bitch like you?***

**-Perra, voy a enseñarte las buenas maneras!**  
***Bitch, I'll teach you good manners!***

At these words, he took Emilie’s hand, pinched the nail of the little finger and pulled with all his strength. Tears filled her eyes and fell on her face in torrents. She grunted and moaned, biting her lips. Vaas tore the nail. The pain was almost unbearable, but yet, she was resisting again and again. She didn’t flinch before the monster. She tried to be strong. Her hatred and anger outweighed the pain. He walked away from her, stopped and put his hands on his hips.

 **-You know you're starting to piss me off, puta?** He stated. **Fortunately, my imagination gives me lots of ideas.** He left the room, saying: **Wait here, I'll be back.**

And where did he want her to go? She was chained to a fucking chair! She was alone. She wriggled a bit to see how she could release herself. She tried to move in all directions, nothing to do. The chains were securely fastened. She gave up sighing loudly. She looked around, there might be a way. She thought of the tools, they could perhaps cut the chains. But she was too far from them. She tried to move the chair to reach the table, but it was useless, it made her injuries even more painful. She once again capitulated. She tilted her head back and exhaled slowly.

She had nothing else to do but think. She thought of her murder yesterday. She had taken someone's life for the first time. And not just anyone: her own sister, with whom she had spent so much time, with whom she had played, laughed, cried, with whom she had quarreled, reconciled, comforted, that she had seen grow up, she had supported, she had loved. A flood of memories washed over her. She felt tears welling up in her eyes. She was becoming a monster too.  
She was rescued from her thoughts by the shrill squeak of the metal door. She saw Vaas entering the room. He was holding a person by the arm.

 **-Querida, I brought you something that will please you.** He said mockingly.

When he emerged from the shadows, Emilie recognized the person who was with him, Julie.

 **-Julie, oh si tu savais comme je suis contente que tu sois là!** Emilie shouted, smiling.  
***Julie, oh if you knew how happy I am that you're here!***

Julie didn’t answer. She just stared at her sister with a look of despise, anger and hatred. Emilie's smile faded. Vaas made Julie sit on a chair right in front of Emilie.

 **-Julie, dis-moi quelque chose, je t’en supplie…** Emilie tried.  
***Julie, tell me something, please...***  
She was silent. Vaas looked as if he was attending a play.

 **-Espèce d’enfoirée de pétasse tarée égoïste, tu me dégoûtes.** Julie spit to Emilie with a hateful tone.  
***Fucking selfish crazy bitch, go fuck yourself, you’re disgusting.***

 **\- I wouldn’t have liked it.** Vaas chuckled.

Emilie didn’t believe it. She lost her words. She still tried to say something:

**\- Julie, qu’est-ce qu’il te prend, sœurette-**  
***Julie, what’s wrong with you, sis-***

**-Ta gueule ! T’es pas ma sœur ! Ma sœur aurait jamais fait ça !**  
***Shut up! You're not my sister! My sister would never do that!***

 **-Ouch! It hurts.** Vaas commented.

Emilie was shocked. Was she mad at her? Of course, Emilie could understand. But she had no choice! Emilie had trouble taking in her sister’s words.

 **-J’ai pas eu le choix, tu le sais, je ne voulais pas-**  
***I had no choice, you know it, I didn’t want-***

 **-Ferme-la ! Tu l’as tuée, sale monstre!**  
***Shut up! You killed her, you’re a monster!***

Julie cried all the tears from her body. She was mad as hell at Emilie. Vaas was standing next to the two girls. He pretended to be grieved:

**-What a pity, a family torn apart... I could almost shed a tear. But I know how to cheer me up!**

He then took the knife that wounded Emilie and approached Julie. The latter didn’t try to defend herself. He positioned the blade on her throat.

 **-No!** Emilie shouted.

 **-Go ahead, do it.** Julie said, still staring at her sister.

 **-Since you asked...** Vaas answered.

Seeing this moment arrive, Emilie stated:

 **-Julie, je t’aime.**  
***Julie, I love you.***

 **-Eh ben pas moi.**  
***Well, I do not.***

She had just enough time to finish her sentence before Vaas slid the blade on her throat. A wave of blood spilled on the ground, before the wide-eyed Emilie. No! No! The young woman was upset, she was gone, she would never see her big sister she loved so much again. Her last words were like a dagger in her heart. The last words she said was to tell her she didn’t love her. The emotional pain was worse than the physical pain. Emilie couldn’t help but start crying, moaning. She broke down. Vaas grabbed her hair and lifted her head towards him.

**-So, what does it make you feel now? You always want to act like you’re a tough girl?**

She immediately stopped. No, she mustn’t cry because of him. She resisted once more. She stared at him with a dark glare. You could see all her hatred on her face.

 **-Boring to die...** He said before he released her.

He sighed deeply. He walked back and forth in the room frantically, making round trips from one point to another while she was staring at her sister’s corpse, lying on the floor. He suddenly stopped in front of her. He stared at her for a long time before approaching her and gently caressed her cheek. She tried to avoid his touch, turning her head. Her reaction made him smile. He crouched in front of her and put his hand on her unharmed thigh. She gesticulated once again to break the contact that disgusted her, in vain.

 **-All things considered , you're right not to cry.** He began. **Family, it’s useless, it isn’t worth crying for it. Parents, brothers, sisters, it's all bullshit. You must forget them, you're here now, with me...**

Emilie was listening to him saying these words. She didn’t know where it was going. Forget her family? It is impossible. It didn’t take long for her to answer him:

**-And what do you know about it, about family?**

He stood up and replied, pulling out a syringe from his pocket:

**-Oh, trust me; I have a good experience with it.**

With these words, he plunged the syringe in Emilie’s arm. She was surprised and before she could do anything, she felt her body weaken. In a very short time, her eyelids became heavy and her eyes closed.

**-Go to sleep, Querida.**

These words were the last ones she heard before falling into a deep sleep.


	4. Chapter 4

_I felt good. Lying in the tall grass, I was enjoying the warmth of the sun. Fresh air was filling my lungs. I smiled hearing their candid and childish laughter. I felt good. A hand touched my shoulder furtively._

**_-Tag, you're it!_**

_I opened my eyes and found Iris, leaning over me, a huge smile on her face. I got up and started chasing her._

_**-Hurry, she will catch you!** Julie shouted to encourage the little girl._

_I ran faster than her. I caught her and we fell to the ground. I began to tickle her, she burst into laughter. Our big sister came to join us. We finally stopped, all three of us laid on the ground side by side, looking away into the sky._

_**-Our life is good, eh?** I asked._

_**-I love it.** Julie replied._

_**-Same.** Iris stated._

_Suddenly, as if it came out of nowhere, a cloud hid the sun. It began to rain cats and dogs. We got up and began to run for shelter._

_**-The first one to get home wins!** I yelled over the noise of the rain._

_We were running all speeds across the field. I loved the rain, the regular sound of falling drops, the freshness of the water streams that pierce the air, the dark light filtering through the clouds, the sweet smell of the wet earth. Rain was frequent around here. Some were complaining, others rejoiced. I would have loved to stay there, to listen to it, to feel it, to watch it, but we had to return home, otherwise we would catch a nasty cold._

_I was lost in my thoughts and very quickly, I could no longer distinguish my sisters with me. I turned to see where they were. But suddenly I thought my eyes was playing tricks on me. What I saw, two great lights halfway between green and yellow pierced a dense black cloud that was split by a scarlet line. I started worrying. I brought my look to the ground; they were there, standing next to one another._

_**-Well then, are you coming?** I shouted, almost frightened._

_They didn’t move. I looked more closely, thus distinguishing the horrible spectacle that played before me. Blood, blood everywhere. The thick liquid spread all over their white body. It came out of their mouths, their eyes. Their hands were smeared. Their skin oozed. I screamed, I cried._

_**-You killed us, you're a monster, you killed us, you're a monster.** They repeated these terrible words in unison before darkness swallowed them._

_I heard a whisper seemed to come from the depths of the abyss:_

**_-Eres mía._**

**_*You are mine.*_**

Emilie opened her eyes quickly. She was breathless and sweaty. She was trying to regain her senses. She looked around her, she was lying on a bed, in a room she didn’t know, there was someone beside her.

**-Ah, you're awake, how do you feel?** The unknown person asked.

**-Strange.** Emilie said, a little worried.

She looked at the person she didn’t know. She was a girl. She looked pretty young, she had strawberry blonde hair and hazel eyes.

**-Don’t worry, this is normal. You should rest. Don’t move; I'll change your dressings.**

Emilie watched her. She removed the bandages she had around the leg and inspected the wound. Emilie did feel good. She saw the huge wound in her thigh. So it was all true? For a moment she thought it was all a bad dream, she would wake up her home, safe and sound. But it was real.

**-Who are you?** Emilie asked.

**-Ah, yes, I didn’t introduce myself, forgive me. I'm Agnes.** She was speaking to her with a radiant smile which reassured Emilie in a way.

**-Where are we?**

**-In Vaas’s room.**

When she heard the name of Vaas, a shiver of fear run up her spine. She tried to get up but the pain stopped her.

**-No, don’t rush, it will start bleeding again**. Agnes said, helping her to lay down.

The young woman continued her nursing. Emilie couldn’t help asking her questions.

**-Why do you take care of me?**

**-Because I was ordered to do so.**

**-By who? Vaas? You work for him?**

**-That's it.**

**-Are you a pirate?**

**-Not exactly, I'm more of a prisoner. I help them as a doctor. In fact, my skills in medicine saved my life.** She said with a snort. **Thanks dad!** She then exclaimed with a laugh.

**-Dad?**

**-Yeah, he taught me everything I know.**

Her tone became melancholic. Emilie could see small tears form in her eyes. Agnes sighed and tried to smile.

**-I'm done! Your leg should heal soon. Well, I gotta go, see you!**

She started to leave, but Emilie retained her.

**-Stay with me please.**

The young woman stopped and turned around. She smiled and went to sit again on the chair beside the bed. Emilie felt comfortable with her, she only knew her for a few minutes, but she trusted her.

**-What happened?** Emilie asked.

**-Excuse me?** Agnes didn’t understand.

**-Your father, when you spoke about him, you almost cried.**

Emilie was curious. Maybe too much, she wouldn’t have asked this question. Sadness appeared on Agnes’ face again.

**-Excuse me, I shouldn’t have...**

**-When I was about twelve, we both lived on this island. We lived in peace with the native people. But one day, Vaas and his men arrived. They came to my home and my father was forced to work with them. As for me, they took me by force. My father tried to dissuade him but he couldn’t do anything. It's been five years since this happened, I haven’t seen him since, frankly, I assume he thinks I'm dead.**

**-These men are heartless monsters.** Emilie said angrily.

**-Everyone seems to think that, here.**

**-Because it's the truth.**

**-No, Vaas is not what he seems to be. There is… another person inside him. A good person. But what he experienced led him to suppress this nature. In truth, he just needs someone to help him, trust him, and love him.**

**\- Did you smoke something before coming?** Emilie joked. **Sound like a fucking shrink.**

Agnes smiled at her remark. She looked into Emilie’s eyes.

**-This island changes people.**

She stood up and prepared to leave the room. She opened the door and stood in the frame.

**-I brought you something to eat on the night table.**

Emilie turned her head as if to confirm her words. A plate of fruit and a glass of water. She took it and started eating. Agnes looked at Emilie one last time.

**-Don’t let the island devour you.**

She went out with these words, closing the door behind her. Emilie kept on eating. She thought about her dream, she felt bad. She shed tear thinking back to her sisters. She was alone now. Her whole life was destroyed. In no time, everything had changed. She was missing her old life so much. She huffed and wiped her tears. She would get through it; she would run away, she would go home.

She put the glass and plate on the table. She could hardly move because of her leg and her whole hand was hurting. He has beaten her severely, and even if she would recover soon, she would keep scars, both physical and moral.

Emilie took advantage of the relative tranquility to inspect the room in more details. In front of her was a large window that let daylight into the room. There was a couch, a large table, a wardrobe. The room was pretty clean unlike what she expected. She managed to get in a sitting position on the bed.

Suddenly, she saw the door opened. Vaas appeared. Emilie panicked. He was approaching more and more, he didn’t speak, he was staring at her with his green eyes. She backed up on the bed until she was stuck in the corner. She was terrified, she was scared of what he would do to her, she was scared of him. She curled up against the wall, she was breathing hard and fast, her heart was pounding. He sat on the edge of the bed, facing her. He wasn’t doing anything, Emilie would have been relieved, but it worried her even more. He brought his hand to her. She tried to avoid him but she was stuck. He caressed her wounded thigh gently.

**-I’m sorry about that… He said quietly.**

Emilie was wordless. Was he really… Apologizing? He didn’t seem to be in his normal state. Emilie had no time to ask more questions. Vaas lay next to her and closed his eyes. He sighed deeply before saying:

**-Hoyt found a buyer for you.**

Buyer? That’s it, it was decided, she was going to be sold and she was going to end her life as a slave. Tears welled up in her eyes.

**-Why do you do that?** She asked sobbing.

He started to laugh. He opened his eyes and look at her.

**-For the money, what else?**

At this words, he got up and went into the room adjacent to the bedroom. He returned in the bedroom a few minutes later. Pointing to the room where he came from, he said:

**-I ran you a bath, I gathered new clothes and all the shit you need. You have one hour to make yourself all beautiful and join me outside, comprendes?**

Emilie nodded. She started to get up from the bed but she could hardly stand up. She almost fell in the process but Vaas caught her just in time. He had one arm wrapped around her waist and he was holding her arm firmly.

**-If you want me to carry you, you just have to ask, Querida.** He joked.

She glared at him; she freed herself from his grip and stated:

**-I can walk by myself, thank you.**

She walked unsteadily and held herself up not to lose balance. She finally entered in the bathroom and closed the door behind her. She heard the pirate’s footsteps get away and the bedroom door close. It was quiet again. She examined the room, a bathtub filled with hot water, a sink and a mirror, toilet, a towel rail… It looked like a normal bathroom.

She watched the mirror for a long time. She was hesitating to look at her reflection? She was scared of what she would find. She finally dared to approach. She was a little surprised but, honestly, she expected worse. She had a few bruises on her face, dark circles under her eyes, dirt and dry blood here and there. Her hair was tangled and dirty, her skin was tanned because of the sun. Her features had lost a bit of their roundness, she had lost weight.

It’s been what, one, two weeks since she arrived here? She hadn’t had a chance to wash and take care of herself for a long time. That's why she hastened to remove her old torn and dirty clothes and plunge her battered body in hot water. She washed her entire body and hair. She cut her fingernails and shaved. Everything had been done. She felt good in her hot bath. So good that she stayed in for a long time, too long. The door burst open. She jumped and buried her body in the water to hide it. Vaas had burst into the room, shouting.

**-What the fuck are you doing, chica? Did you fucking drown? You should have been out at least an hour ago!**

So long? She really didn’t see the time pass. He walked toward her, grabbed her arm and pulled her out of the water. She tried to hide her body with her hands but it was useless. He took the towel and handed it to Emilie. She tried to catch it quickly, but at the last moment he pulled the cloth to him and raised his arm in height to prevent her from reaching it.

**-You want it? Come and get it.** He chuckled with a smirk.

She stared at him with a glare. She wouldn’t go into his little game but she wanted to cover her body and she was starting to be cold. She tried to grab the towel, raising her arms, but she couldn’t do it. She tried again several times and, without realizing it, she approached more and more of him. He laughed when he saw her struggling. She ended up crashing her naked body to his. She managed to take the towel and began to walk away but Vaas put an arm around her waist to keep her close. The cold water beading on her thin skin was soaking the pirate’s clothing. She tried to escape but he restrained her. He whispered in her ear, smiling:

**-I like when you rub yourself to me, Querida, especially when you're all wet.**

He then let her go. She didn’t waste a second, and wrapped her body in the towel. She was so embarrassed, exposing her body before this man, the idea was disgusting. He then gave her the clothes she had to wear. She took them with a quick movement that showed her anger, it made him laugh. She waited for him to leave to put them on but she saw that he wasn’t ready to move.

**-Can you go out please?** She asked with despise.

**-No, you're going to take ages if I’m not here, and I don’t like waiting.**

**-Then turn around and don’t look.** She ordered him.

He complied. She also turned her back to him and began to dress. She put on a red lace underwear, decorated with ribbons and beads. She never wore that kind of sexy underwear, she hated it, but she didn’t have a choice.

Vaas turned to look at her, obviously he wasn’t going to deprive himself of the spectacle! He watched her curves. He was looking at her thin muscles moving, the water dripping from her hair and running down her slightly arched back, her buttocks, her thin, long legs. He savored every picture his eyes offered him.

She then put her ‘dress’. It was black, short (about mid-thigh), rather tight, slightly flared at the bottom. It was tied behind the neck and had a bare back which plunged towards the small of her back. Emilie didn’t feel dressed at all with that, but never mind, it was better than nothing. Once finished, she dried her hair with the towel. She tied them in a ponytail and put the heel sandals that she was given.

They left the cabin a few minutes later. Vaas had tied her hands behind her back, ‘just in case’. She was walking better than earlier, but her injury still hurt her. He led her through the camp. The pirates stared at her, as usual, whistling and making jokes like ‘Hey Vaas, don’t you want to lend her, for a minute?’ or ‘Hey, you could have found an even longer dress!’

Emilie hated it. Her anger clearly showed on her face. Vaas watched her, amused by her annoyance.

**-Don’t blame them; they haven’t seen a nice little ass like yours for a long time.** He said, smiling.

**-If they don’t know how to control their dick, then we must cut it off.** She replied, upset.

**-It’s an idea...** He replied sarcastically.

They walked in silence a few minutes before reaching a sort of parking. Trucks, jeeps and motorcycles were parked there. Vaas led her to a car, opened the passenger door and ordered to Emilie:

**-Get in.**

**-Why?** She asked.

**-Because I'm ordering you to fucking do so.** He replied, annoyed.

She sighed but complied. He slammed the door and climbed on the driver's side. Before starting the engine, he reached into his pants pocket and pulled out a joint. He lit it and inhaled the smoke before exhaling it inside the confined space. He finally started the engine and took a dirt road to get out of camp. The beginning of the journey was silent but Emilie couldn’t help but asking questions:

**-Where are we going?**

**-To the port.**

**-Why?**

**-The guy who wants to buy you will retrieve you there.**

**\- Wasn’t your superior supposed to handle that?**

**-Yes, but he has more urgent things to attend to, and he’s not my ‘superior’.**

She felt him a little annoyed by her remark, she decided to have a little fun by insisting:

**-However, you seemed to obey him like a little dog...**

**-Shut up.** He answered simply.

He did not argue anymore. Emilie took it as a small victory. She touched a very sensitive point. She could not help continuing:

**-It must be nice to have an obedient dog to serve you.**

**-Are you comparing me to a dog, _puta_? Shut the fuck up!**

She went silent. She was trying to contain her laughter, thinking about this grotesque scene: Vaas crawling behind Hoyt with the tongue hanging outside the mouth. Sometimes it was scary to think about stuff like that in her head. She contained her hilarity and the journey continued with the same stony silence. Vaas was still smoking. The thick white smoke filled the vehicle. Emilie began to cough. She caught the attention of Vaas who turned his head toward her, smiling slightly.

**-Your little lungs are fragile, Querida?** He sneered.

**-I hate smoke.** She said. **Plus you take drug while driving, you're going to kill us.**

**-Relax, It's just weed, it doesn’t do anything.**

His response made her snort. He took so many drugs that it didn’t affect him? Fucking junkie!

Vaas finished his joint and opened the windows to let the smoke out. The wind rushed into the vehicle and was twirling blonde girl’s hair. Vaas continued to drive by throwing an occasional glance at her plunging cleavage or at her thighs which were revealed when the dress was lifted by the wind.

**-Oh no, don’t bother.** She said sarcastically.

**-No, no, don’t worry, I don’t.** He replied just as sarcastically.

None of them talked for the whole remaining of the journey. Emilie looked at the landscape scrolling by the window, thinking about nothing. She felt the insistent gaze of Vaas on her, but she said nothing. In fact, she was used to it.


	5. Chapter 5

After thirty minutes which seemed an eternity for Emilie, they reached their destination. Vaas led her through the area which was bustling with activity. Until then, Emilie didn’t resist, she had followed the pirate without flinching. But now she was here, she was aware of the seriousness of her situation. She was going to be sold! To a guy she didn’t know, of course! She would surely be used as a sex slave for a fat disgusting pervert! No, no way! She stopped walking. Vaas looked at her and sighed.

**-What’s going on? You’re pissing me off, move or I'll put a fucking bullet in your head!** He pulled a pistol from his belt.

**-No.**

**-What?**

**-No! I won’t go there!**

**-Oh yes, you'll go!** He shouted grabbing her by the hair and putting his gun on her temple.

Her face contorted in pain. He pulled her to make her move. She couldn’t fight back. They stopped in front of a small group of four people. Three men were dressed in black suits and looked like bodyguards and one fat man was wearing a Hawaiian shirt and beige shorts, smoking a huge cigar. Seeing the pirate approaching, the big one called, raising his arm:

**-Hey, Vaas, hi how are you?**

The latter put his gun back in its holster and dropped Emilie’s hair to take her by the arm. He answered his interlocutor:

**-Hermano, I couldn’t be better!**

**-I see you've brought me my goods, and I also see that you haven’t lied about the quality!** He joked.

This man was revolting Emilie. It was exactly the idea she made of him: a fat, vicious man, oozing money, who thought everything was permitted. Fuck! She had to get out of there, and fast! She was developing a plan in her head: she must resist, she must show that she wasn’t a nice docile girl, she must be as damn annoying as possible. He wouldn’t want a girl who causes him problems, right? And then? She would improvise...

The fat man approached. He stood in front of her, smiling.

**-Hi, you.** He said.

**-Ferme ta gueule, enfoiré!** She shouted.

***Shut the fuck up, asshole!***

Vaas shook her as if to tell her to calm down. But she didn’t intend to do so. She stared at the stranger with a hateful look. He examined her from every angle, as if she was just a piece of meat, by adding comments which exasperated Emilie:

**-Yeah, not bad...**

He took her chin and turned her head to check the state of her face.

**-Not too damaged...**

He scanned every inch with his big bulging eyes, he opened her mouth to look at her teeth. She grabbed the opportunity right away: she put her head a little forward and closed her jaw violently, biting man’s fingers. He pulled away growling.

**-Plus, this little bitch bites.** He commented.

Vaas tried to hit her but she managed to break free from his grip. Immediately, two of the three bodyguards immobilized her.

**-Lâchez-moi, fils de pute!** She struggled with all her forces but she came to nothing.

***Get off me, son of a bitch!***

**-Excuse her, she is a bit on edge, but after a few blows, she’ll shut her mouth.** Vaas was trying to reassure his client.

**-Don’t worry, I know how to handle it.** He approached Emilie again and slid his big hand down her thin neck and to her breasts. **I know how to make them respect me.** He sneered.

She almost threw up feeling his hand on her skin. She couldn’t move her arms, but she had her legs (one, at least). She managed to kick him in the knee. He pulled back with pain. Emilie was quite proud of herself. But the reprisals didn’t take long to come. Vaas slammed his fist into the young woman’s jaw, which knocked her out a bit.

**-You try to fuck up my sale, puta! Shut the fuck up!**

Yes, that's quite what she was expecting. But before Vaas had time to hit her once again, the man stopped him.

**-Stop, it isn’t worth it. I take her, I like when they fight back.** He said with a mischievous smile.

Fuck! She had to deal with a masochistic in addition! Emilie didn’t know what else to do. She saw a bodyguard give Vaas a black suitcase while the two who held her took her to the big man who stated to Vaas:

**-Four million, as agreed.**

Vaas nodded taking the suitcase. The other four men began to leave, taking Emilie who still tried to struggle. Vaas had put the suitcase on a wooden crate and had opened it to see its contents. Everything was here, four million. But before they moved too far away, Vaas called them.

**-Hermano?**

The buyer turned around and walked toward Vaas, asking:

**-Problem, Vaas?**

When he was close enough, the pirate pulled out his gun and shot him between the two eyes. Immediately, the three bodyguards tried to fight back but Vaas eliminated them in no time. The four men lay on the ground in a pool of blood. Emilie had a horrified look. Vaas put away his weapon, as if nothing had happened, adding:

**-Asshole.**

He went to Emilie who was trembling with fear. He took her by the arm and led her back to the car with which they had come. He made her get in and took the wheel to return to the camp.

After arriving there, he took her back to the cage she was in a few days ago. On the way, Emilie finally dared to speak:

**-Why?**

**-Why what?** He said sharply.

**-Why did you kill them?** She asked a little scared.

**-They were false.** He said simply.

**-Fake bills?**

**-Yeah, he tried to fuck with me. And I don’t like that.**

**-Then, now you'll sell me to someone else?** She dreaded the answer.

**-No, you stay with me Querida, you are mine.** A small smile appeared on his lips.

Emilie didn’t know what to think. She didn’t know whether to be relieved not to be sold or to be scared to stay with Vaas. She stopped walking as if it would help her to think about it. He tried to make her move but she remained motionless. He let out a long sigh of annoyance before turning to face the girl. She looked into his eyes. He could distinguish fear, sadness and hatred in her yet so pretty face. Suddenly, in a thoughtless impulse, he cupped her face with his hands and pressed his lips to Emilie’s. The latter was shocked, she was trying to pull back but he held her firmly. He tried to move his tongue in Emilie’s mouth but she clenched her teeth with all her might to prevent it. She finally managed to bite his bottom lip until blood poured from it. He walked away abruptly and wiped the blood that was beginning to flow with the back of his hand. Emilie stared with a look of hate, spitting on the ground. Vaas smiled with a stupid smug look.

He finally led her to her cage where he untied her hands before throwing her inside. She fell heavily on the dusty ground, which made the pirate laugh. But the shock provoked a violent pain in Emilie’s leg. A spot of blood began to appear on the bandage around her thigh. He closed the door and left without saying a word. Emilie looked around. There were other cages near hers, and other hostages. In one of them were three sleeping girls, in another were two men and a woman, all elderly. And in yet another, two men. When Emilie watched the two, one of them said sarcastically:

**-We are fucking bored here, they could at least let us watch the TV.**

Emilie smiled at his joke. He kept his humor even in such situation, he was be really optimistic.

**-I’m Dennis.** He introduced himself.

**-Emilie.** She replied politely.

Dennis was black man, about forty years old and spoke with a strong accent. He looked very friendly and cheerful. He didn’t seem bothered by his situation.

**-We don’t have to wait for much longer, my dear, don’t worry.** He said.

Emilie didn’t understand. ‘wait much longer’? What does he mean? Emilie didn’t try to answer this question. She has already had a good amount of emotions for the day, she was exhausted. Night was falling slowly on the island; the sun was setting, leaving a soft orange light covering the atmosphere. Emilie allowed herself to fall into a deep sleep lulled by pain and nightmares.

* * *

**-Emilie, wake up, we have to leave.**

Emilie was still a bit sleepy but she could hear him calling her. She recognized the voice of Dennis. She opened her eyes slowly. He was at her side, he was shaking her lightly on the shoulder to wake her up. After a few moments, he helped her to get to her feet and out of the cage.

**-You're hurt?** He asked, pointing to her thigh.

**-Nothing serious, but I have trouble walking.** She stated.

**-I'll help you.** Dennis replied by resting Emilie’s arm over his shoulder to support her.

She accepted his help. Her injury was aching terribly, but what worried her the most were the gunshots, screams, and blood. They were in the middle of a bloody battle.

**-What's going on?** She panicked.

**-We help you to escape.** He replied by making their way out of the camp.

**-We?**

**-Our people, the Rakyat.**

Rakyat? It didn’t tell anything to Emilie, but they brought her their help, so she accepted. They had to run, to escape as quickly as possible. But suddenly, Emilie stopped Dennis.

**-Wait, we must also take my...** She stopped.

**-Your what? Sorry, Emilie, but we don’t have time.**

Her eyes widened with realization.

**-My s-sister...** She began to sob.

**-Do you know where they are?** He asked, seeing her distress.

**-Dead.** She was crying.

Dennis didn’t know what to say. He saw the tears running down her cheeks, her face filled with sadness.

**-It isn’t the time to falter, Emilie. I feel sorry for them and for you. But you have to be strong, we need to be out of there.** He encouraged her.

She nodded, wiping her tears.

**-You're right, forgive me.**

She consoled herself quickly and made her way to the road again, helped by Dennis. Everything was going so fast around them, people were screaming, agonizing, dying. Emilie had never seen such a slaughter. Screams were resounding in her head. She was seeing all these corpses lying on the ground in their own blood. She was seeing all these men fighting and killing like animals. They were no longer humans. Fires were raging. Chaos was reigning. Emilie had a real vision of hell before her.

When they exited the camp, other hostages were escaping with them. They were following the few men (probably Rakyat) who were guiding them through the jungle. The darkness of the night, the animal’s sounds and the icy wind in the leaves made it terrifying. Emilie didn’t know where they were going, but she trusted Dennis.

After one or two hours of walking, they arrived in a little village. It was composed of several shacks. There was a camp fire around which few persons, certainly the people, were sitting. Light strings were hung between huts, giving a festive atmosphere to the place. As soon as the small group appeared, the people helped the former hostages. They gave food to the hungry, nursed the potential wounded and offered a roof under which they could sleep. They were completely foreign but the villagers didn’t hesitate one second to come to their help. Their solidarity, their hospitality, their kindness moved Emilie. She felt safe here, away from these bloodthirsty pirates. It almost seemed to no longer be on the same island.

Emilie was settled in one of the huts. She was changed her bandages, she was given food and drink and new clothes. She rested for a while. Dennis was at her side, he reassured her and took care of her. It was hard to realize what had just happened, she asked him lots of questions.

**-Where are we?**

**-We're in Amanaki, our village, you're safe here.**

**-And all these people are... ‘Rakyat’?**

**-Yes.**

**-Why do you free Vaas’ hostages?**

**-Our people lived on this island for centuries. These pirates have settled here and started to attack us. They want to exterminate us but we resist and we fight back to keep our island. Slave trading represents a great part of their ‘business’, if we take their hostages, they lost a great part of their earnings.**

**-And you, were you born here?**

**-No, I was born in America. But I wasn’t in my place there, I was a foreign. Citra saved me, and here, I have finally found a home, a family.**

**-Who is Citra?**

A little smile drew on his face and he answered:

**-She is the sun that lights this island, she is the wind that rustles in the leaves of the jungle, she is the waves that crash on the white sand beach. She is the only person who really matter for us, she is the leader of our people, the _warrior goddess_.**

Emilie was impressed by the description he just gave. The people were adoring her, they were venerating her. She even wondered if he was talking about a real person or a legendary entity.

**-The sun will rise soon, you should rest until so.** He said to Emilie before leaving.

**-Thank you.** She said right before he closed the door.

She lay on the bed, closed her eyes and breathed deeply. She was finally free. With Rakyat’s help, she would escape this crazy island and come back home. She smiled thinking of her parents. She saw herself with them, enjoying a long Sunday with her whole family. Them and her sisters. She was suddenly seized with deep sorrow. What would she tell her parents when she’d see them? Dad, mom, two of your daughters have been killed, including one by myself!? No, even if she returned, her life would never be the same again. At this thought, she began to cry. She cried for hours. She stopped because she had no longer tears to shed. She was tired and fell asleep without thinking about anything.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There you go everybody! If you liked that chapter, feel free to let me know, I love reading your comments! Bye!  
> Badi-otaku.


	6. Chapter 6

**-Fuck! Fuck, fuck, fuck! FUUUUUUCK!** He was screaming, pacing erratically through the camp.

**-Vaas, calm down!** Another pirate, Juan, was trying to reason with him. He was trying to keep up with him.

Vaas stopped suddenly and turned around to face his subordinate.

**-How can I calm down, hermano?!** He turned away from him a bit to speak to all pirates in the camp. **I work with fucking wrecks that aren’t even fucking able to watch some guys in a cage, damn it!**

The day after the Rakyat’s assault, the pirates were reorganizing to recover from the battle. Wounded were treated, fires were put off, bodies were removed. There wasn’t a lot of human loss for the pirates, but many of the buildings were damaged. Not to mention the hostages, they had almost all been released. Vaas was a nervous wreck. He stood in front of the pirate, one hand was on his hip, the other pinched the bridge of his nose, his eyes closed, he was trying to breathe calmly.

**-You should go see Agnes for your wound.** Juan said, pointing to Vaas’ bloody arm.

The latter looked at his arm. It wasn’t a very deep cut but enough to need to be taken care of. Vaas, who was now a little calmer, dared to ask the pirate one last question:

**-And...my Querida...is she here?** He had a hesitant and nervous voice; he was ready to freak out again if the answer didn’t please him.

**-Uh...She… escaped with the others...** Juan finally said.

Vaas was silent for a few seconds, the time to turn around and scream.

**-FUUUUUUUCK!**

He took a deep breath and calmed down again. He then continued on his way to the hut that was used as an infirmary. Once arrived there, he opened the door and entered. Agnes was sitting at a table writing in a notebook. When she heard him enter, she turned to him and said him to sit on the chair that was next to her. He did so; he came and slumped down on the chair.

**-Show me your arm. She ordered.**

He put his arm on the table. She bent down to examine it.

**-It’s okay, it's not very deep, I'll just disinfect and it would close by itself.**

She got up and went to a cupboard to take a bottle of alcohol, cotton and bandages. She put everything on the table before taking a towel and going to a sink where she soaked it with water. She came and sat back in front of Vaas. She cleaned the remaining of dried blood on his skin and disinfected the wound with alcohol. Vaas watched her in silence. After a while, he said:

**-They took her from me.**

Agnes didn’t look up from her work, but she was intrigued by what he had just said.

**-Who?** She asked.

**-These bastards took my Querida away from me.** He was almost pouting like a child.

She said nothing. She just smiled a little at that. Vaas seemed to have attached to Emilie. She finished what she was doing and stood up. But before she could get away, he grabbed her by the waist and pressed his head on her stomach. He tightened his grip and said, almost begging:

**-Stay with me.**

She smiled again and with her hand, stroked his hair as if to reassure him. He didn’t do it often, but when he did, it was always in front of Agnes. He cried, as if she was the only person before who he could be in such a state of weakness. She was used to it. He released his grip and leaned back in the chair. Agnes wiped one of his tears with her thumb and put her hand on his cheek. He lifted his head to look at her, she smiled to him.

**-I’m here.**

* * *

The days passed. Emilie quickly recovered from her wounds, her thigh was almost completely healed. She felt good living in the village and was gradually becoming a part of the community. Every night, they sang, danced and drank around a campfire. But despite all that, Emilie felt a kind of void. Yes, she sorely missed something, but what?

Emilie was sitting on the beach, facing the sea. She was staring at the horizon thoughtfully. She missed something, someone. She thought of her sisters, yes they were missing but it wasn’t that. Her parents, too, but it wasn’t that either. She sighed and pulled her legs against her chest. Almost unconsciously, she touched her lips with the tip of her fingers. She thought back about that time, about him.

Vaas had tried to kiss her, his mouth tasted like alcohol and tobacco, his saliva spread on her closed lips and his dirty hands pressed her flesh like a vise. She was disgusted at this time. But, looking back... She seemed to have loved it. The warmth, closeness, sweetness. She could see him again in front of her, with that little smirk. She felt a sudden longing. His smiles, his words, his approach, did she miss... him? No. No, no, no, definitely not! She shook her head vigorously as if to remove the thought. It must be the sun beating down on her head, or perhaps fatigue, she rambled completely. She laid her head on her lap.

**-Tu deviens folle ma pauvre.** She thought aloud.

***You going crazy, poor girl.***

**-You are talking to yourself, now?**

She jumped when she heard a voice behind her. She turned abruptly. Dennis. fortunately, it was just him. She gave him a small smile before turning back to face the sea.

**-It’s you, you scared me.**

He came to sit beside her. He looked in the same direction as her.

**-It’s beautiful, isn’t it?** He asked, looking at the blue sea reflecting the beautiful sunlight.

**-Yes.** She replied softly.

**-I want to ask you something...** He said, a little hesitantly.

**-What?**

**-Well, I know you have a family, a home waiting for you in Europe. But...** He hesitated. **Stay here.** He finally said.

She gave him a little surprised and confused look.

**-Stay here, with us, join the Rakyat and fight with us.** He said encouragingly.

**-Dennis, listen…** Emilie tried not to be too direct, she saw a kind of hope in his eyes and she didn’t want to hurt him. **I don’t… want to fight, I don’t share Rakyat’s convictions…**

**-But you are a strong and proud woman, you don’t know it but the tatau will show it to you.** Saying that, he grabbed her left forearm and looked at her in the eyes. **Citra will show it to you.**

Emilie didn’t like this sudden contact and she pulled away from his grip. The tone started to get tense.

**-I… I don’t even know who is this… _Citra_ , you talk to me about her every day but I have never seen her! And why would I fight with you anyways? My only goal is to leave this island and come back home!**

**-With us you will be able to take your revenge on Vaas, he killed your sisters, right?**

Dennis was still insisting. She started to get angry, she stood up.

**-No, I don’t want to, I can’t! Thank you so much for your help and all you’ve done for me, but I’m going away, I’m leaving this crazy island and I’m going to find my family where it is waiting for me!**

She turned around and started to go.

**-You will never get away from this island, you will never come back home…** He said monotonously. Her heart skipped a beat but she walked again as soon.

Emilie was angry. She went back to the shack where she lived. She started to gather some stuff. She decided to leave. She hurried not to loose time and not to be restrained, but before she could exit, Dennis entered and saw her.

**-What are you doing?** He asked.

**-Don’t you see? I’m fucking leaving.** She answered angrily.

Dennis tried to reason with her:

**-And where will you go? In the jungle, you won’t survive a day. And if the animals don’t kill you, Vaas will find you!**

**-I don’t give a fuck! I don’t want to stay here.** She said while she continued packing some stuff.

**-Listen, I was a little blunt with you back there, I’m sorry. But think of it, Citra needs a person like you, you are a warrior, Emilie. He said approaching her.**

She turned around to face him and glanced at him.

**-You are freaky. Your stories of warriors, tatau or I don’t know what!** She calmed and continued. **I prefer to leave, Dennis.** He didn’t reply anymore. He just looked at her leaving. She walked away from the village and entered the jungle that was darkened by the night.

She walked for a long time before stopping to rest. She lay on the ground and curled up. The jungle was terrifying. She didn’t see anything, she just heard the whisper of the leaves, the cries of the animals and she felt the humidity of the earth freezing her skin. She was cold, yes, but she was scared above all. A few tears rolled on her icy cheeks, she wanted to call for help. One name came to her mind.

**-Vaas.**

* * *

This morning, Vaas woke up at dawn. He didn’t sleep a lot currently, he was… preoccupied. It had been more than a week that the Rakyat attacked, they took a lot of his hostages, but especially, they took italicher. He has never felt that before, as if someone had taken away a piece of his life. In fact, yes, he had already felt that. But that was before his sister betrays him. Since that day, he had never trusted anyone again, he had never attached to anyone again, he had never loved anyone again, except himself. Yes, since that day, he hated that feeling.

Vaas was strolling around the aisles of the almost empty camp. He was lost, why did he feel that? There was a sort of link that held him to her, a link that was impossible to undo. He was sick, not because he was away from her, but because he didn’t want that link, that sense of attachment which deprived him of his freedom, he denied it and rejected it. No, he didn’t love her, he only loved himself! In fact, he was afraid.

After a moment, Vaas got tired of thinking about all that. He decided to go for a walk in the jungle to clear his head. He made sure to have his pistols and his knife on his belt and left. The sun had barely risen on the island, the temperature was still low and the morning dew glistened on the green leaves. He loved it, for anything in the world he would leave this island, the island where he was born, italichis island.

* * *

Emilie had spent a horrible night in the jungle. She had hardly slept, she was exhausted. She was still trying to sleep when she heard the growl of an animal. She opened her eyes with difficulty. Fear seized her when she saw a tiger, walking in a circle around her, growling. She tried to get away from the beast but it suddenly approached. Emilie was terrified; she didn’t know what to do. She tried not to make sudden movements not to upset the animal.

She was trapped, she was its prey, she would be eaten by this beast. She still managed to stand up, but immediately, the animal lunged at her with a roar. She fell heavily on her back. The beast was kicking legs, fangs. Emilie struggled with all her might to defend herself. She was crushed under the weight of the animal. She tried to grab the knife she had taken with her before she left but she couldn’t reach it. Her situation was desperate, she could do nothing, she screamed, she struggled but the beast was much more powerful than her. She thought of giving up when-

BANG! BANG!

The animal fell heavily on the ground, two bloody holes in the head. Emilie caught her breath and put her ideas in place. When she realized what had happened, she turned to look behind her. Vaas. He stood there, gun in hand and a smile on his face. She didn’t move, she was just looking at him with shock. He approached her quietly and crouched to bring their faces closer. With a big smile, he caressed her bloody cheek plunging his gaze into Emilie’s.

**-I found you.**

She said nothing, she didn’t interfere. In fact, she was lost. She looked at his smile, a soft smile, not like she used to see them. A hopeful and kind smile. Suddenly he took her in his arms and held her with all his might. She tried to understand what was going on, why did he act like that? She didn’t know, but for the first time since her arrival, she began to love him a little. At that time, she saw a completely different Vaas. Maybe what Agnes had said was true?

She was pulled out of her thoughts when she felt something land on her partially opened mouth. She took a little while before realizing that he was... kissing her. She let it go once again. It was exactly like she had imagined, soft, warm and sensual. She was living this taste she had hated, she was loving this closeness that had disgusted her. She was loving it all, she wanted it to never stop.

But they parted reluctantly. She gave him a smile before he violently knocked down her face with his fist. The blow caused her to waver on the side. She held her cheek as to stop the pain. Her eyes were wide with surprise and incomprehension. Before she could ask anything, he took her by the arm with his big hand squeezing hard enough to leave bruises.

**-Lit’le bitch.** He spat.

He pulled her up and dragged her to the camp. She didn’t resist, still shocked by what had just happened.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everyone! So, for this chapter, I have to say that it is a little bit violent, but nothing very serious. Hope you enjoy!

Back to the camp, Vaas took Emilie in his shack, still dragging her by the arm. He came in and made her sit on the bed. He took a chair and sat down in front of her. He put his elbows on his knees and let his chin rest on his hands. He looked at her for a few minutes, he was observing her, he was staring at her with an insistent gaze. Emilie was completely lost, she didn’t move, she didn’t dare to. His look started to be embarrassing. She wriggled a little as to eliminate this discomfort. Vaas finally broke the silence.

**-Why are you doing this?** He asked in a relatively calm tone.

She gave him a questioning look and didn’t answer.

**-Answer me, _puta_!** He started to get angry.

**-Doing what?** She asked, seeing that remaining silent wasn’t a good idea.

**-Don’t fuck with me!**

He stood up abruptly from his chair and swung it violently to the side. Emilie gave a little jolt of fear and surprise. He approached her fast, took her arms to immobilize her and stared at her. She started to get a little scared but she remained strong.

**-Why do you make me feel that, huh!? Why are you not like the fucking others, huh!? Why can I not kill you or even let you go!?** She didn’t answer, he shook her violently. **ANSWER ME!**

She was a little scared, but she was angry above all. His behavior made her furious. What had she done, she had run away, it's true. But there, he reproached her something that wasn’t her fault! What's wrong with him!? She stood up and wriggled to break free of his grip. She managed to free one arm and immediately dealt him a huge slap on the cheek. He backed away a little bit, putting his hand on his cheek that turned red. He couldn’t believe it, she had dared! He gave her a hateful gaze.

Shit...

And he immediately slapped her back. His power was far greater than the girl’s, she fell to the ground in shock. He took the opportunity and jumped on her, one leg on each side of her to keep her still. He took her by the neck and started to tighten as he was shaking her.

**-Who d’you fucking think you are, _tarada_ , you want to disrespect me!? But what you didn’t seem to understand is that no one disrespects me, no fucking one!**

Shouting these words, he took out his knife and approached Emilie’s face. He was still holding her by the neck, she tried to defend herself but it was useless. Again, he was much stronger. She looked, in horror, at the blade that was getting closer and closer of her left eye. But she didn’t give up, she looked down at the gun hanging on Vaas’ belt. Without thinking, she grabbed it and brought the barrel on the pirate’s forehead. He released his grip and put the blade away. She believed that torture was over, but instead of going away, Vaas laughed out loud when he saw the girl, ready to kill him. Emilie was even more upset by his reaction.

**-Ha ha ha... And what are you gonna do with that, _perra_ , huh?** He asked her, making fun of her.

**-KILL YOU!** She replied.

His smile suddenly disappeared, giving way to a look of anger and hatred. He grabbed the barrel of the gun and pressed it hard against his forehead.

**-Then fucking do it, go ahead!** He said to her. She didn’t move. **DO IT!** He shouted.

Emilie closed her eyes, every muscles of her face contracted. She prepared to pull the trigger but she stopped. She dropped the gun, Vaas retrieved it and stood up. Realizing what she just had done, Emilie sighed and let her head rest on the floor. She couldn’t have done it anyway. Vaas laughed while holstering his gun. Once done, he turned to the girl and looked at her. She was still on the floor, she expected him to do something, to laugh at her, to hit her, to insult her, to kill her. But none came; he only looked at her.

After a moment, he finally started to move. He took Emilie’s hand to make her stand up and he made her sit on the bed. She didn’t really know what was going on in her mind, but she had left her chance pass, she could no longer do anything, so she resigned herself to accept her fate. She remained still, head down, hands on her thighs. She saw the scar on her left thigh, she had almost forgotten it. It wasn’t beautiful, it was a scar after all, but Emilie liked it, oddly. She lifted her head to see Vaas, turning his back to her, looking for something in his wardrobe. Unsurprisingly, Emilie noticed that the closet was three-quarters filled with guns of all kinds, knives, ammunition, explosives, ropes and chains. Yes, it wasn’t surprising for someone like Vaas.

**-Well then? What are you gonna do to me now?** She asked with a weary tone, without an ounce of worry.

He didn’t answer but when he found what he wanted, he turned and walked over to Emilie. She didn’t see what he had in his hand. And in less time than it takes to say it, he took her left arm and attached it to the bars of the headboard with handcuffs.

**-Qu’est-ce que- *What the-*** Emilie was surprised. She didn’t expect that, she didn’t know how to react. She remained silent while he said in her ear:

**-This way you won’t escape anymore, Querida, you'll stay with me quietly, has comprendido?**

Huh? Emilie could less and less figure out what was going on. For a moment he wanted to get rid of her, another he wanted her to stay with him. She didn’t understand anything. When he turned to leave the room, she felt like she had to ask:

**-Why don’t you kill me? You said that-**

**-I SAID, I couldn’t do it, OK? I told you that I couldn’t kill you, not even let you go!**

**-Then what are you gonna do?!**

He turned to face her with that evil grin she knew well now.

**-You see, you really piss me off right now. So I'll repay you, you will suffer... YOU WILL SUFFER AS MUCH AS I SUFFER!!**

He hurried out of the room. Emilie stayed there for hours, attached to the iron bars. She was waiting. What? She didn’t know, but she waited. She was alone with herself, alone with her thoughts and memories. She had almost lost all sense of time. Her only reference was the light that entered the room through the window. She was trying to put her ideas in place. She even tried to understand what was going on in the mind of this freak. But it was impossible.

He was... how to put it... weird? Moody, arrogant, unpredictable, extremely touchy... He was dangerous. He was addicted to drugs and blood, he was violent and merciless. Yeah, everything to please! But the weirdest thing about all this was that Emilie couldn’t help but be... attracted to that. The very person of Vaas was a danger, and she knew it. But, what would have scared anyone actually appealed her and charmed her.

Emilie couldn’t understand Vaas. But how could she if she wasn’t even able to understand herself! When he wasn’t with her, she thought of him, she wanted him to be near her, she needed him. But when he was with her, she was afraid of him, she wanted to kill him, she wanted to make him disappear. Long story short, she was totally clueless.

In the end, she was tired of racking her brain; she stopped thinking about all that. She looked out the window, the night had fallen. She sighed, she was horribly bored. She started to look at the room. She couldn’t see much of it, but she could make out some objects.

In the corner at the foot of the bed was a TV with a stack of DVDs next to it. On the night table, a small lamp, she lit it to see more clearly. She opened the drawer of the night table, a cigarette box, a knife and... a figurine of a vahiné? Emilie took it in her hand, its head had been replaced by Vaas’. She shook it a bit to make it move and let out a chuckle.

**-Trop bizarre. *Weird.***

She then put it back in the drawer and closed it. She sighed again and dropped her head on the pillow. She lay on her side, the position was a little uncomfortable since she had one arm attached above her head, but she was fine with it. She closed her eyes, she almost didn’t hear the noise from outside, she felt the sheets caress her skin, she could smell Vaas’ scent. Sweat, tobacco, alcohol, she could have been disgusted, but she loved that smell, _his_ smell. She smiled and took the pillow and pressed it against her head.

But then she felt something cold on her skin. There was something under the pillow, she put her hand on the object and brought it back to her. A gun. Perfect, Emilie could defend herself if anything happened to her. Still, wasn’t he a little paranoid? He had a gun stashed under his pillow! Well, whatever... Emilie put the object in place and closed her eyes to dive into a light sleep.

Later, Emilie was awakened by music. Outside, she could see the purple, pink, blue light and could hear laughter and cries of joy. They were having a party. She smiled briefly and lay back down to try to sleep. But she was bothered again by a noise. The cabin door slammed open. She then jerked in surprise. In the darkness, she could make out Vaas’ silhouette. He stood motionless, staring at Emilie. She tried to see a little better, he was acting strange, not as usual.

When he walked towards her with a firm step, her instincts tell her to back off, but she was quickly pressed against the wall that was behind her. He paused, still in the shadows, she could only see yellow eyes staring at her and white teeth sending her a creepy smile. She shivered with fear. He then took a step closer. His face was illuminated by a beam of purple light. Emilie was not even able to describe the expression she saw on his face. But it made her uncomfortable, it made her anxious.

He continued to approach slowly as to prolong the torture. She looked at him up and down, something was wrong, the person that stood in front of her wasn’t Vaas, but a bloodthirsty beast. Blood, or else, she thought, noticing a bulge in his pants. Now, she started to really freak out. She saw his chest move up and down with each breath, she felt his warm breath escaping from his body with each exhalation. She felt her own heart beat take the rhythm of the beast’s footsteps. She looked at his eyes again. His pupils were dilated, the iris could barely be distinguished. It made him look like a demon.

**-V-Vaas?** She tried to bring him back, bring the Vaas she knew, in vain.

**-I want to fuck.** He growled.

Her blood froze; she swallowed to try to remove the knot that had formed in her throat. She was shivering. So that was what he wanted, he wanted... her body. Emilie didn’t even dare think about it. She wasn’t ready at all! But he got closer and he ended up being right in front of her, just a few centimeters away. Emilie was completely curled up, her right arm encircled her legs to pull them tight against her chest as if to hide herself. Yes, she wanted to hide from him.

But he decided otherwise, he took her arm and pulled it to remove it from her legs. He had too much strength, even more than this morning when they fought against each other. Emilie could do nothing but scream and gesticulate. He took her by the ankles and pulled her back almost to the edge of the bed. Emilie still tried to stand up to get away but he lunged at her, growling.

He slammed her on the bed and gave her a punch in the face to calm her down and started to tear her shirt. Emilie struggled with all her might to defend herself. She was crushed under his weight. Then she remembered. The gun. She managed to get her hand under the pillow and grab the weapon. She didn’t know if she could do it, shoot him, but her situation was hopeless. She firmly squeezed the gun in her hand and put the barrel on the man’s temple, no, the beast’s. He immediately stopped, but he remained in his position, determined to continue what he had started. After a few seconds, he continued to remove her clothes. Emilie had no other options, she pulled the trigger.

Click.  
Only a small noise was heard. He was always there, alive. She realized after a few moments. It wasn’t loaded. Vaas burst out laughing at Emilie’s panic. He then snatched the gun from her and threw it at the other end of the room. He started to kiss her violently. Emilie was trying to bite him, hitting but nothing worked. There was no hope. He attacked her neck, he kissed it, bit it until it shed blood and licked it. He used one hand to undo his pants. Belt, button and fly. Emilie counted every step that brought her closer to her inevitable fate. She cried and screamed while he laughed and groaned.

She had lost all hope. Suddenly, she saw two hands resting on the shoulder and torso of the pirate. He tried to kick the grip growling. But he was pulled back.

**-Vaas, Stop!** A voice behind him said.

He didn’t want to, he was trying to break free. Emilie saw the face of the person behind him, Agnes. She was there. Emilie regained a little bit of hope. Agnes finally managed to make Vaas stand up. She turned him to face her and cupped his face with her delicate hands. He still resisted.

**-Vaas, Look at me! Look at me!** She forced him to look at her in the eyes.

Emilie watched the scene. Vaas gradually calming down, but you could still see the desire on his face. He took Agnes by the waist violently and clung her to him before kissing her on the neck. Agnes tried to resist pushing.

**-Vaas, no. Let’s go see the girls, you need it.** She was trying to tell him.

**-No, I don’t want them.** When he said that, Emilie was like hearing a pouting child.

He continued to kiss her. Agnes knew it was useless to resist, she knew what to do when he was in that state. She didn’t really want to, but she had to, anyway, she was used to it. She started to let it go, but she turned her head to Emilie who was still looking, she didn’t understand. Agnes looked back to Vaas to talk to him.

**-Vaas, wait, not here...** She tried to take him with her outside the room, but he didn’t move.

She didn’t want to do it in front of Emilie, she didn’t want her to see that. She wouldn’t manage to drag him outside. But she could maybe take him into the bathroom. She moved away a bit from him and took his hand. They went through the door and entered both the room. The door closed violently under Emilie’s still shocked eyes.

She sniffed, wiping her tears. She looked down at her torn shirt. She had escaped the worst, but now it was Agnes who was submitting to her fate. Guilt seized her. Still, she struggled against this feeling. If she started to feel guilty for everything she wouldn’t survive, she set it aside and tried to forget it. She stayed like that, listening despite herself to the noise they were making in the next room until they came out in the morning.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don’t hesitate to comment if you liked it, I love knowing that my readers appreciate my work. Bye!  
> Badi-otaku.


	8. Chapter 8

_I was floating in emptiness. I was plunged into complete darkness. I couldn’t hear any noise. I felt nothing. The air was dense and heavy. I tried to accelerate my breath so that I did not choke. And then, very quickly, I fell on the ground abruptly -or at least what seemed to the ground. I managed to get back on my feet and took a step forward. Suddenly everything went white. The terrifying black gave way to pure white. The air became fresh and light. The bright light made me close my eyes for a moment. Then I opened them and saw that something had appeared before me. I turned around myself inspecting my surroundings. I recognized the smell of roses, the chirping of birds. I recognized this place, it was my home. A smile drew on my lips. It's good to come back._

_I was facing the big house where I lived with my family. I was looking at it, I was contemplating it. I missed it so much. Then the front door opened, revealing a silhouette. The person went out, followed by another, then another, and yet another. I immediately recognized my family. My dear family, they were waiting for me on the porch, smiling at me._

_I ran towards them, screaming their names at the top of my lungs. I soon arrived before them. But my smile immediately faded. My eyes widened at this horrible sight. They no longer smiled at me, how could they, they had no face! They stood there, they looked like monsters, yet they had all the features of human beings, except that. I started to cry. I didn’t understand, my happiness and my relief were gone, suddenly. I fell on my knees, put my head in my hands and started to sob loudly. After a few minutes, I heard a voice behind me._

_**-Shhhh ... ¿Porque lloras, Querida?** He said in a calm, soft voice._

**_*Why are you crying, Querida?*_**

_I turned to face Vaas. He was smiling at me; his eyes were full of sweetness. He was holding out his hand to me._

_**-Ven conmigo, no te haré ningún daño.** He continued with the same tone._

**_*Come with me, I won’t hurt you.*_**

_I dried my tears and stood up. I was thinking, as a matter of fact, he seemed to want me no harm. He even reassured me. After a few seconds, I decided to take his hand. Our skin touched, his was hot, burning; it was nice._

_But when contact was established, everything disappeared around us; all went back to this terrible black. I still felt his hand around mine, but I no longer saw him. In fact, I only saw his green eyes shining in the dark and his smile, shining with a monstrous brightness._

**_-Bienvenido al País de las Maravillas..._**

**_*Welcome to Wonderland ...*_**

Emilie woke with a start. She sat up and turned her head in every direction as if to know where she was. She was breathing fast and hard. She was still disturbed by the dream she had just had. She wanted to get up but she was still handcuffed to the bed. She finally managed to calm down and catch her breath. She saw someone looking for something in the closet on the other side of the room. Emilie recognized Agnes’ fine figure. The latter turned as she heard Emilie move. She smiled and approached her, talking to her:

**-You're awake. You okay?**

Emilie remembered the events of yesterday. Sadness, anxiety and guilt formed a tight knot in her throat. She swallowed to try to make it disappear.

**-Y-yes.** Emilie replied softly.

**-Look at what I found.** Agnes laughed waving a small key between her fingers.

**-Ah, great...** Emilie sighed, a slight smile bending her lips.

The small key was the one that opened the handcuffs that tied Emilie to the bed. She didn’t show it that much, but she was relieved and grateful. She would finally be able to move normally! Agnes unlocked the handcuffs and Emilie freed her wrist which began to seriously hurt her. She gently rubbed it with her other hand to ease the burning sensation. Free at last!

She stood up straight out of bed to walk. She seemed to rediscover that feeling, especially since she really wasn’t the kind of girl to remain inactive such a long time. So now, she was elated. Her smile lit up a little when she started to walk in the room. She stopped to stretch her muscles. Raising her arms, she remembered that her shirt was torn.

**-Ah, yes, I forgot this detail...** She said, while her smile tarnished.

**-Yeah, you need something to get dressed.** Agnes confirmed. **Maybe I can lend you one of my t-shirts, but I think it wouldn’t suit you.**

She thought for a second before heading to the cabinet. She picked a random garment, anyway they all looked the same, and handed it to Emilie. The latter hesitated, looking at Agnes in surprise.

**-I can’t wear this, Vaas will kill me if he sees me with one of his tank tops.** Emilie protested. **And still... I don’t want to wear it... that's weird...** She continued, embarrassed.

**-Well, I think you don’t have much choice...** She said in a sympathetic tone.

Emilie sighed but took the garment. She slid her destroyed shirt along her thin arms. She unfolded and put on the red tank top. Vaas’ smell invaded her nostrils, this smell disgusted her now. She seemed to be trapped by his brutish arms again, she wanted to tear the garment, not to feel the roughness of the fabric anymore and not to see this horrible red touching her skin. A simple cloth reminded her how much she was weak, here, in this surreal hell, where she counted the minutes of life that were left for her.

Her face darkened, her eyes extinguished, her features blurred and her mind became misty from all those memories. Tears welled up in her eyes, she felt her legs falter under her weight; she sat on the edge of the bed to keep from falling. Tears rolled down her rosy cheeks. She thought back to all those memories, all those sufferings she had endured in such a short time, which yet seemed an eternity. She couldn’t stand it, she had tried to resist, to survive all this time, but she reached her limits. She burst into tears.

Agnes rushed towards her to hug her. She sat alongside Emilie and squeezed her with all her might to show her she was there, with her, she supported her and she wouldn’t let her down.

**-I c-can’t ta-take it any-more...** She sobbed. **I am s-so sc-scared... I'm i-in s-so much pa-pain… I can’t be-ar it anym-ore.**

**-No, please, don’t say that, you have to hold on. You're strong, don’t let all that break you. Don’t let him break you.**

Emilie’s crying softened a little, she continued:

**-I don’t understand! He's so...** She didn’t find words. **I don’t understand anything! I mean, he changes his mood and mind all the time. One moment he wants to kill you, right after he told you he can’t do it. He wants to get rid of you and he wants to keep you. He wishes you well but he wants to make you suffer!**

**-Yes, I see what you mean.** The explosion of anger Emilie made her smile slightly. **Actually...** She sighed. **He is afraid.** She confessed.

**-Of what?** Emilie asked with frustration.

**-He’s afraid of what he feels. He is afraid to indulge his emotions. He wants to control everything, but that feeling, he can’t control it. It makes him mad and it frightens him.** She explained.

**-What feeling!**

Agnes looked at Emilie in the eyes and smiled softly.

**-Love.**

Emilie froze. How could Vaas, this man, this monster feel love? And why for her?! No, no, no, that's impossible! This monster can’t feel love for anyone, other than himself! That being said, it would explain why he acted this way. It was clearer in her mind now. After all, Agnes was probably right...

Emilie then began to imagine what she had heard was true. And without really realizing it, she began to blush slightly. Actually, she didn’t know how to react. Surprise, anger, denial, embarrassment, joy... all these feelings were rushing in her head. Still, she tried to regain her composure, she put all those feelings aside to focus on one goal: to understand.

**-How do you know him so well?** She asked.

**-That’s it, I know him.**

**-Did you know him... for a long time?**

**-Uh, let's see...** She thought for a second. **Nearly nine years.** She stated.

**-So long!** Emilie was astonished.

**-Yes, the first time I met him, I was eight years old. But I hadn’t seen him in a long time before he took control of the north island, and what happened happened.**

Silence.

**-He made you live horrible things too.** Said Emilie. **And he continues to hurt you all the time. You have been here for years, and it seems like nothing affects you.** Tears began to well up in her eyes again. **Unlike me, who’s hardly been here for two months, and I already can’t stand it anymore.** She turned her head toward her friend before continuing. **How do you do? What makes you remain strong despite everything that happens?**

Agnes thought again for a little while. She sighed and said simply:

**-Hope, I guess.**

**-Huh?** Emilie didn’t understand.

**-I hope he could get back, one day, to who he was. When I see him, I tell myself that this is not the Vaas I know. I see a man who is torn, destroyed and lost.**

Agnes turned her head to look in front of her. Staring at a non-existent point, she continued:

**-Before, he took care of me, now it's my turn to take care of him.**

**-What do you mean?** The explanation Agnes had picked Emilie’s curiosity.

**-It’s a long history.** Agnes smiled, thinking back to that memory.

**-Well, tell me.** Emilie insisted.

**-When I was little, I lived with my father on this island. We lived in a beautiful house on a hill. Once a week, he came down to the nearest Rakyat village to do some shopping and provide medical services to residents. One day when I was about eight years old, he took me with him, according to him, to make me some friends. Once there, he left me alone. I decided to go see kids my age who were playing outside, trying to socialize me. But I had barely approached and they already rejected me, saying that I wasn’t one of them, that I had nothing to do here...**

**-What bunch of assholes...** Emilie’s comment made Agnes laugh.

**-Yeah... So, I went to get my dad to come home, I did not want to stay there. But I did not know the town, and I found him nowhere. So I found myself crying in a corner, alone. What they told me had badly hurt me. And then, after a while, someone came up to me. He crouched down and put his hand on my shoulder and said, "Well, don’t cry like that, niña, otherwise I'm going to cry, too." I looked up to see him. He must have been barely twenty at that time, and the first thing on him that caught my attention was his eyes. He sat next to me and looked at me, smiling. I stopped crying and gave him back his smile. "Here, you're much prettier like that!" He said.**

Emilie smiled as she heard this story.

**-He told me his name, I told him mine. And we stayed like that, speaking, until nightfall. Then I went home with my father and I fell asleep thinking about my new friend. I met Vaas.**

**-Wow.** Emilie was almost moved by what she had just heard. Indeed, Vaas looked like a completely different person.

**-The two or three years that followed, I accompanied my father all the time. We went there every week and then several times per week, and then nearly every day. Vaas and I talked for hours, laughed and played together. I admired him so much; he had become a sort of model for me.** Agnes told that with a voice full of longing. She wiped a tear before concluding. **That was the good old days!**

**-Yeah...** Emilie confirmed.

**-Anyways!** Agnes said as to close the subject before getting up and starting to leave. But Emilie stopped her:

**-Wait, you're leaving? No, stay with me please.**

**-I won’t take much time, I'll get you something to eat, you must be starving.**

Emilie nodded and sighed:

**-OK.**

**-Do you need anything else?**

That question was like a click to Emilie, she quickly lifted her head and demanded as quickly:

**-White sheets of paper and a pencil.** Realizing she had almost given her an order, Emilie bowed her head again, ashamed.

**-Wow, what enthusiasm!** Agnes joked before walking back to the door. **I think I can get you that, in the meantime, do not move from here.** She finished.

**\- And... Vaas... does he...** Emilie stammered, but Agnes understood what she meant.

**-He left for the day, you don’t have to worry.** She smiled sweetly.

Emilie nodded again and let the girl go.

* * *

Once out, Agnes began to walk towards her hut, quickening her pace. But, at the intersection of a building, lurking in the shadows, someone stopped her. He took her forearm to stop her, she was suddenly afraid and began to struggle. But soon, she recognized his face.

**-Juan? You're crazy, you scared me!** She reproached him.

**-Where’ve you been? I waited for you last night.** He looked into her eyes, worried.

**-I was...** She was reluctant to tell him the truth. **With Vaas.** She finally admitted exhaling.

**-Agnes...** He sighed like a reproach.

Juan looked at her more carefully, her eyes were red and overshadowed by monstrous dark circles, she had bruises on her arms and face.

**-You know very well that I do not like when you-** He continued before he was cut.

**-I haven’t had the choice, Juan, he wanted to hurt Emilie.** She tried to justify herself.

**-Well, you should have let him do it! Look at what he’s done to you!** He showed her arm that was covered with bruises and scratches.

She suddenly got rid of his grip and pulled her arms to her chest as to hide them.

**-Why do you worry so much for this girl? You put yourself at risk for her when you don’t even know her! Anyway, she's a hostage like any other and she will eventually be killed, like the others!** He shouted.

**-Thanks, but I'm a big girl, I can do what I want, and you have nothing to say! And if you're jealous of this guy, you can just fuck off!** She replied, shouting louder.

Her words shocked him a little bit. They remained silent, gazing into each other's eyes for a little while. Then he sighed and took Agnes in his arms. Her head was pressed against his chest.

**-Let go of me...** She mumbled in a tone that said the opposite.

**-I do not care what you do with him, but I really do not want him to hurt you, I can’t bear to see you suffer.** He whispered before laying a kiss on her forehead and continuing. **I love you.**

**-I love you too.** She added.

He broke their embrace to let Agnes continue her path before returning to his own work. He watched her go. She kept telling him she was fine, but he always worried about her. He loved her so much.


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi! There is the chapter 9! Unfortunately, it is a little short and it isn’t very eventful because it’s a transition chapter, in some way. But I hope you’ll like it though, enjoy!

Emilie was focused. Sitting at the table that was against a wall of the room, she was slowly running the pencil she was holding onto the sheet of white paper. Each line she traced was made with as much attention as possible. Her movement was precise and sure. Drawing, she loved it. It soothed her, calmed her, occupied her. But at that time, it was more a necessity than a desire, she had to do it.

She was in her element, serene, she had almost forgotten all that surrounded her. She had almost forgotten the hell in which she was burning. Outside, it was pitch dark. She had spent the whole day like that, as immersed in a dream.

But she was suddenly brought back to reality when someone entered the room. The door burst open. Emilie jumped and turned quickly to see who had just entered. Of course, it was Vaas. She then hurried to gather the papers on which she worked and tried to hide them behind her back. Vaas walked to his bed, he didn’t even seem to notice Emilie’s presence. She continued to look at him, still sitting on the chair, a look of fear and nervousness in her eyes. He slumped down on his bed, causing a small squeak that made the girl’s spine shiver. He rubbed his face with his hands as to alleviate fatigue and remained with his head down for a little while. But, finally noticing Emilie, he raised it to meet her frightened look. He smiled slightly and got to his feet before slowly approaching the girl.

Emilie felt her heart speed up the pace. He didn’t have the same expression on his face, but she had the impression she was reliving the horror of the day before. He approached, step by step, as she was trying to back up, but she didn’t dare to move. He finally arrived in front of her, he got his face closer to hers. Always the same breath, the same heat, the same discomfort. Emilie was paralyzed. He moved an arm and, so quickly she barely had time to realize it, he took what she was hiding behind her back. She tried to take back the papers, but Vaas had already stepped back and started to examine them, looking surprised.

**-Wow, I must say it’s rather good.** He said with joking tone. **You’re a good artist.** He continued.

Emilie lowered her head and remained silent.

**-I just made you a compliment!** He insisted. **You could thank me...**

**-Th-Thank you.** She replied in a small voice.

**-There.** He said giving her the papers.

There was no real reason to be afraid, it was just drawings. But Emilie didn’t know how Vaas could react. After all, she was a prisoner, she wasn’t supposed to entertain herself, right? Emilie was a little surprised that nothing more happened. She expected him to keep them, tear them, even just to annoy her. But no, nothing more. Emilie then reached out slowly to get back what belonged to her. But when she put her fingers on it, he took it back violently. He stepped away and began to look more closely at the faces that appeared on the paper.

**-Wait a second...** He began, frowning. **I recognize them.** He looked up at Emilie. **Tus dos hermanas, no?** He asked, pointing to the two sheets.

***Your two sisters, right?***

Emilie was afraid. He had taken a slightly more menacing expression. She didn’t dare to move a single muscle. But she took a deep breath and nodded, not to make him impatient.

**-However,** he began again, looking at two other sheets. **Them, I don’t know them... Quienes son, Querida?**

***Who are they?***

The way he talked and roll the R using this nickname made her shiver. She lowered her head and, pummeling her sweaty hands, she said in an almost inaudible voice:

**-My... pa... ts...**

**-Excuse me?**

He took a step forward, the creaking wooden planks under his shoe startled her. Her hands were shaking now, she was terrified. She knew his excessive and unpredictable temperament. At that moment, he was relatively quiet, but she couldn’t help but imagine him freaking out suddenly and making God only knows what horrible things to her. His calm was terrifying her.

**-They are my... parents.** She finally said.

**-Aaaaah, I see.** He replied. **And... could I know...** He looked like he was trying to restrain himself, but she felt he was going to explode with anger. **Why did you decide to draw all your little family? Huh, answer me, Querida...**

His faked gentle tone gave her goosebumps. She was stammering.

**-To... to remember...**

He leaned forward to bring their faces close again and whispered:

**-Remember what, Querida?**

A psychopath, that's what he looked like. He tortured his victim with his words, he took pleasure in doing this.

She dared to look up. A tear rolled down her cheek, her fingers were shivering, her muscles were paralyzed, and her teeth were chattering and gnashing.

**-Their faces...** she replied, whining. **Every day, every hour, every second I forget more and more their faces.** She explained.

**-And... you don’t want to forget them, right?** He asked, looking at her straight in the eye.

Emilie answered by shaking her head. No, she didn’t want to. The dream she had had disturbed her. Waking up, she had first asked herself why she hadn’t seen their faces, and then, thinking, she had realized that she had simply forgotten them. She had tried to collect her last memories on a sheet of paper, and she succeeded. They existed, now, only on the paper. And this paper, so fragile and precious, was in the hands of this sadistic monster.

**-Hmhm.** He nodded. **But tell me, do you remember what I told you the other day, huh? Do you remember it?** He straightened up, took one of the four papers and began to tear it, in front of Emilie’s horrified eyes. **"You must...** He took another paper to do the same, **forget them...** Another one, **you’re here, now...** The last one, **with me."** A mischievous smile appeared on his lips.

He looked at her tears. He was laughing. She stared in horror at the small pieces of paper that were spread on the ground. She was crying.

He just stood in front of her, arms crossed, waiting. She finally dried her tears and looked up. He laughed yet again seeing her eyes, red from crying. She managed to get back a neutral expression. Again, she was tired of crying because of him. Anyway, crying and begging was useless.

Emilie was starting to resign herself, hoping was useless, she would never return home, she would never see her family again. She would forget them as if they had never existed, because she was here now, with him.

**-That’s it, you're done?** Vaas asked impatiently.

He didn’t really expect an answer, but Emilie nodded mechanically. He uncrossed his arms before removing his tank top. Emilie remained motionless on her chair, staring at him with a slightly questioning look. He took off his belt holster and placed it on the bedside table. Then his shoes came off, he threw them in a corner of the room. Finally, he removed his pants and left then on the ground, only his boxers were left.

Emilie didn’t get her eyes off of him during that time. She wasn’t really watching, though. But Vaas didn’t fail to notice it. He faced her and looked into her eyes with a smirk on his lips.

**-See something you like, Querida?**

She blinked rapidly and shook her head slightly as if to wake up before lowering it, embarrassed. He let out a small laugh before undoing the sheets of his bed and lying down. He let out a long groan of contentment after gesticulating to find a comfortable position. He closed his eyes and relaxed.

Emilie remained still on the chair like an idiot. She didn’t really know what to do, should she go to sleep too? Vaas opened his eyes again to look at the girl.

**-Well, what are you waiting for? Come to bed, Querida.** He ordered.

She did so without thinking. She got up, took a few steps and stopped. She hesitated a little moment before sitting on the floor at the foot of the bed. She began to lie down but she crossed Vaas’ surprised look. He began to laugh.

**-You can come _in_ the bed, you know, I won’t eat you!** He joked.

She thought Vaas would refuse her sleeping in the same bed as him. She thought her place was on the floor. But as he proposed, as he ordered even, she wouldn’t say no. Even if she didn’t really like the idea of sleeping next to a nearly naked man, _this_ man, she preferred it than sleeping on the floor.

So she climbed in the bed. She kept all her clothes on. All her clothes, including Vaas’ red tank top. Seeing her in his clothing could make him angry, but now, he liked it. When she lay on his side, he approached her to whisper in her ear:

**-The red fits you wonderfully, Querida.**

She blushed. She blushed!? Why did she blush at his compliment? Knowing all too well what he had in mind! Definitely, nothing worked right in her head. She was even more disturbed when he began to move. She avoided looking at him, but she was able to feel what he was doing. He was taking off a garment, his _last_ garment! She dared to stammer:

**-Wh-What are y-you doing?**

**-I don’t like sleeping dressed.** He replied.

After completing his operation, he approached Emilie again, closer this time. He wrapped muscular arm around the girl’s waist and buried his head in the crook of her neck. His nostrils were filled with her sweet scent. He closed his eyes and sighed.

Emilie was like frozen. She didn’t dare to move, she had her arms along her body, her eyes were wide open and her cheeks were crimson. Oh Lord! She thought she was dying of embarrassment. She could have been disgusted, pushed back, but no! She was frozen with embarrassment. She felt his male heat invading her. His smell of alcohol and tobacco seeped into her lungs. His rough and burning skin brushed her brutally. She was trapped.

Still, she tried to sleep. Vaas’ slight snoring gently rocked her. She stabilized her breathing at the same pace as his, closed her eyes and relaxed. She emptied her mind of all thoughts. She fell asleep after a few minutes. Her sleep wasn’t disturbed by any nightmare or not even a dream, nothing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for your attention, don’t hesitate to leave a comment! See you soon for a new chapter!  
> Badi-otaku.


	10. Chapter 10

The soft sunlight shone through the bedroom window. The morning air was still cool and the jungle birds were already singing. Emilie was lying on the bed, on her back, she was staring at the cracked ceiling. She had been awake for a while now, but she did not dare to move, afraid of waking Vaas. He had one arm around her slim waist and his face was buried in the crook of her slender neck, his regular, warm breath was rolling over her soft skin. She turned her head to look at him. He had a calm and serene face. He looked so quiet; it was like seeing another Vaas! The Vaas Emilie knew terrified her, she was doing everything to stay away from him. But right now, seeing him sleeping as peacefully, she would do anything to stay close to him. She almost wanted to cuddle him, caress him, kiss him.

As she kept staring at him, she remembered he was completely naked. She blushed and looked away to look back at the ceiling, which seemed to fascinate her. After a few seconds she felt Vaas move a little. He let out a soft groan, approaching a little more Emilie. She let out a small smile. It was strange, she wanted to be near him, to feel his hot skin against hers. It was as if all that had happened before, all her sufferings and anxieties had disappeared. As if she had forgiven him. No, she couldn’t feel hatred for Vaas, only an already huge attraction and a still tiny love.

She thought again of Agnes’ words. "Another person" she had said, maybe it was true? And, on reflection, she was attracted by Vaas, but in a strange way, the other Vaas attracted her even more. Damn, she was thoroughly lost in her feelings again!

She tried to turn around to avoid seeing him, without success. And even, Vaas tightened his grip around her waist to bring her closer to him. She could have been more embarrassed, but instead of that, she smiled. She appreciated the proximity of their bodies, the heat they shared and the touch of their skin.

Looking at him for a long time, she eventually noticed the green gem he wore around his neck. On closer look, he wore it all the time, he never left it. As proof: it was the only thing that was dressing him at this very moment. Emilie found the stone beautiful. She approached her curious fingers to touch it. The object fidgeted a bit before stopping again. Then, as if it was uncontrollable, her hand went from his neck to his face. She stroked his cheek and then his forehead, to finish on the shaved part of his head. And in a final gesture that seemed involuntary to her but was yet absolutely wanted, she placed a soft kiss on his tanned forehead. He smiled in his sleep. He let a gentle and quiet smile bend his lips, accompanied by a small, almost inaudible sigh:

**-Victoria...**

Emilie's face, red with embarrassment, took a questioning expression. Victoria? Emilie had never heard this name. It must have been one of his lovers, well... one of the girls he had fucked, this term was more appropriate for Vaas. Emilie decided not to wonder any further, it was not very important. But still, she was intrigued by it.

She remained in bed for half an hour, but she ended up getting bored. And the hunger which began to be felt didn’t help things. She thought for a few seconds of how to get up without waking Vaas. First, she took off his arm that was holding her, then she slowly turned on her side and put a foot down, then the other, she sat up removing the sheet that covered her. Finally, she got up from the bed, slowly so as not to make the bed grind.

Once standing, she heard Vaas move behind her. She looked over her shoulder. He was still asleep but he had changed his position. He was now lying on his back, arms spread and his head between two pillows. Emilie chuckled seeing his rather grotesque position. But she stopped immediately when she saw that the sheet wasn’t covering anything from his body anymore. She quickly turned her head and felt the color rise on her face in no time.

She rushed into the next room as if to flee. She felt so ashamed. She walked to the sink in the bathroom to freshen her face. She opened the tap, leaned over and splashed water on it. She then grabbed a towel that was lying nearby and wiped her face as she stood right again. When she dropped the towel, her eyes met her reflection in the mirror. She looked at herself for a little while. She liked to look at herself in the mirror. Not to admire herself, but to be alone with herself, in some ways. Sometimes she needed to see herself in the mirror and think, as if to take stock, to put her ideas in place and to meditate. It's weird, huh? But it's as if it was reassuring her and helping her to move on.

Then she heard heavy footsteps coming from the room. She cut short her talks to herself and left the bathroom. Vaas had put his pants and shoes on, but he was still shirtless. He was sitting on the couch, lighting a joint –do we have to recall it’s early in the morning!

He looked up at her and held her gaze a few seconds. He looked like he was waiting for something, Emilie didn’t move.

**-Well, do not stand there like an idiot.** He said with a despicable tone.

She shrugged and looked around.

**-And what can I do, instead?** She replied.

**-I don’t know, fix the bed, for example.** He replied with a gesture of the chin to the bed.

She did so. Approaching, she noticed scraps of paper spread out on the ground. The drawings she had made the previous day. She paused briefly to watch it. She could have picked them up, she could have felt sad, she could have started crying. But no, nothing came, she remained completely neutral. She raised her head and continued walking to the bed.

Once reached, she leaned over and began to put the sheets in place. Vaas looked at her, well, more precisely, he looked at... her ass. From where he was, he had a perfect view of her back, he was staring with a lustful glance and a smirk on his face. She continued her work when he got up, put the joint he was smoking in the ashtray and took a few steps to approach her.

When he was behind her, his smile widened as he put a hand on the girl’s ass.

**-Nice ass...** He said shamelessly.

Feeling his touch, she turned around suddenly and, in surprise, smashed her hand on the pirate’s face.

Clack!

He stepped back, rubbing his cheek. Emilie stood motionless, eyes widened in shock. He looked up at her with a dark and terrifying look. Shit! She had hit him again without thinking! She was now waiting for his reaction, as if it had become normal.

He grabbed her wrists and squeezed them with all his might, growling. Emilie moaned in pain and shed a tear. He maintained his look, frowning and clenching his teeth. She looked at him with her eyes begging for mercy. They remained like this a few moments, until Vaas loosened his grip a little. He relaxed his face, his eyes never left Emilie’s tearful eyes. She was breathing hard through her half-open mouth.

Suddenly he made a movement that nothing could have predicted. He took her tiny hand in his powerful right hand. He took it gently to his lips before laying a kiss on her white skin. Their gaze hadn’t left each other’s.

Emilie was completely disoriented. It was so sweet, nice. She couldn’t admit that gesture came from Vaas. She stared at his face, his pupils were dilating slowly, gradually making his green iris disappear. He smiled slightly before approaching her face. Emilie felt the breath she knew all so well again. He approached, more and more, until he reached her neck. Emilie remained frozen, eyes wide open and mind befuddled by strange sensations.

She felt it. His burning lips were brushing the thin skin of her neck, his beard was scratching her and his breath was making her shudder. He slightly opened his lips to show his white teeth and nibbled her ear lobe. A burning shiver ran bottom up through her body to turn into a humming in her throat and get out of her half-opened mouth to finally die in a long moan.

Her legs were hardly supporting her, but Vaas was still holding her hands firmly. He then whispered in her ear:

**-Like it, huh, naughty girl...**

Then, without warning, he walked away and let go of Emilie. She almost fell on the bed, unable to stand. She sat still while Vaas sat back down on the couch and took a drag of his joint with an amused smile on his lips. She was like in shock. What was that? She hadn’t understood anything of what had happened, everything happened so fast! Did she just moan!? Did she like it!? She put her hand to her ear to gently touch the lobe he had bitten. She had to admit it, she loved it. It was so sudden and unexpected, so good and... exciting. She felt her cheeks redden. Her body reflected all her train of thought. Vaas looked at every reaction that made him laugh. Causing trouble in her mind, he loved it.

After several minutes of silence, he finished his joint, got up, put a tank top and went out, leaving Emilie alone again. And once again, she thought of Vaas, of his intentions, what did he want? But she surely would never have an answer to that question.

After a long time, Vaas returned. He entered the room, walked quickly to Emilie and took her by the arm to make her stand up and get her out. She didn’t really have time to protest, but once outside, she asked:

**-Where are we going?**

He did not answer immediately.

**-You'll see.**

He said no more.

Emilie then merely obeyed and followed him, had she a choice anyways? She looked at her surroundings. The sun was starting to beat down harshly. Vaas’ men were trying bearing the scorching heat by avoiding unnecessary walking and staying as long as possible in shadows that were scarce. All was quiet, you could hear the clatter of weapons being cleaned, two or three car engines purring and, in the distance, a few cries of desperate hostages.

Emilie began to feel her skin burning in the sun, she felt like her head was bubbling and her thick hair become moist due to sweating. She wasn’t the only one, Vaas also suffered from the terrible heat, she was staring at a sweat drop, beading in the hollow of his nape, running down the slope of his muscular neck to come to mix with the red of his garment.

She came out of her trance when they reached a small building made of rusty jail. Vaas opened the door which creaked horribly and pulled Emilie inside. The heat was even worse here, a real furnace. This room seemed to have a particular function, there were several computers, batteries scattered everywhere, some sort of devices that looked like telephones, a few wooden crates and cartons.

Vaas let go of Emilie to go to the only pirate who was in the room.

**-Get the fuck out.** The pirate did so without flinching.

Vaas then went to a telephone set, picked up the phone and motioned to Emilie to approach. She did so, he held out the object she took.

**-You dial the number here, you press there and you wait. Hurry up, you have five minutes.** He said in a completely neutral tone before walking away a little bit.

She did not understand at first but she quickly began to dial the phone number she knew so well, still under the gaze of Vaas who remained a few steps behind her, arms crossed.

(A/N: All the words that will be spoken are supposed to be French and not in English, because Emilie is French, but it is more comfortable to read all in English so I write it in italics just to give the illusion...)

Emilie waited for the person on the other end answers. One, two, three ringtones, the wait was interminable. Then a soft voice finally asked:

_**-Hello?** _

Emilie could not help the tears that rose to her eyes. She asked in a broken voice:

_**-M-mom?** _

The person immediately recognized the voice:

_**-Emilie! Sweetheart, is that you?**_ She could not believe her ears, she then began to harass the girl with questions. _**Where are you? Are you okay? Why don’t we hear from you!? Did something happen!!?**_

Emilie stopped her:

_**-Mom, listen to me, I haven’t much time.** _ She said looking Vaas over her shoulder.

_**-Emilie, is that you?** _ Another voice appeared. Emilie recognized her father. A flood of tears came over her.

_**-Dad...** _

_**-Tell us where you are, we send people to look for you! You'll come back home, everything will be okay, sweetie!** _ They said.

_**-Mom, Dad, listen to me.**_ Emilie insisted. _**I... I won’t come back home...** _ She said with a desperate voice.

_**-Stop, do not say that, we will do everything to...** _ They continued.

_**-No, you cannot do anything...** _ She had trouble expressing her words. _**Forget me.**_ She said while Vaas came and made a sign that she still had thirty seconds left.

_**-And your sisters, where are they?** _

Emilie didn’t answer, guilt seized her, Vaas picked up the receiver she had in her hands. Just before he moved it away from her face, she gave in to her guilt and said:

_**-... I killed them.** _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is it for this chapter, hoping you liked it. If you did, don’t hesitate to leave a comment; that would be soooo cool. Thanks for reading, see you!  
> Badi-otaku.


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING, this chapter contains VERY violent scenes that can shock the most sensitive, I want to warn you!  
> Anyways, hope you enjoy, as always!

**-No! No-no-no-no! NO-aaaaah! Aaaaaaaaaah!** He screamed. His eyes were being put out, he was screaming with unbearable pain.

Emilie was there, right in front of him, she tried to look down not to see him, but she could still hear his deafening cries. She could do nothing but suffer with this man she did not know.

His screams stopped to give way to groans. Emilie looked up, Vaas stood before his victim, preventing Emilie of laying her eyes on the poor man. But the pirate walked away, and the girl discovered the macabre spectacle the man's face was.

It no longer had any form, only reddish blisters. His bloodied eye sockets let appear two black gaping holes. His mouth and jaw were nothing like what they should be. One of his cut ears let a trail of blood slide down his bruised neck.

Emilie nearly vomited at this sight. She quickly looked down. It was too much for her, how could he still be alive? She was crying. Vaas approached her slowly, his hands were dripping with fresh blood, his evil smile was decorating his face, he was the devil.

He stood in front of the girl. He held out his glistening scarlet hand and placed it on her cheek. He made her raise her head to look into her eyes. Her eyes, as always, were full of sadness, anger, hatred and fear. He stroked her cheek with his thumb, soiling the whiteness of her skin with this filthy red. She was shaking, her teeth were chattering.

**-You see,** he began in a horribly sweet tone, **I am an artist too...**

**-St-p, pl-s-, s-p...** Her words were broken by tears.

**-What did you say? Repeat!** He raised his voice, she jumped and started talking again.

**-Ple-ase, sto-op, I cannot… take anymore...** She begged.

He released her violently and slapped her, it made her waver.

**-THEN STOP LOOKING AT ME LIKE THAT!** He shouted in her face. **STOP WATCHING ME AS IF I WAS A MAD MAN, A SADISTIC MAN, A MURDERER!** He continued walking back to the dying man.

He took a knife from his belt, she closed her eyes. What would he do again?

**-LOOK AT ME!**

She opened her eyes to see Vaas, pointing the knife towards the wide open mouth of his victim. He looked dead, he did not react any more, but when the pirate began to push the blade into his palate, he started to scream. His cries were deformed by the blood that was stagnating in his throat, turning them into horrible mutterings. The blade sank, inch by inch, the blood was gushing, the man was convulsing.

It was too much for Emilie, she vomited the little food she had in her stomach. The acid burned her throat, her stomach contracted again and again, until it was completely empty. Her tears doubled in intensity.

Quickly, the man stopped moving. He was no longer moving, no longer making any noise. He was dead. Vaas forcefully pulled the blade out of the victim’s mouth. His head fell forward, it hung limply on his shoulders, blood still dripping from his barely open mouth. Emilie looked horrified. The image was unbearable, but she couldn’t take her eyes off the lifeless body, and this image was gradually engraving in her memory.

When Vaas started to walk towards her, she suddenly laid her eyes on him and shook harder. She tried to release her hands which were tied to the chair, without success. Vaas approached slowly, staring at the girl with an evil grin on his face. When he was close enough, he violently grabbed Emilie’s neck, making her squeak. They stood still for a few seconds before Emilie whispered shakily:

**-Bloody monster...**

He tightened his grip around her neck while gritting teeth. He still had the bloody knife in his hand. Emilie knew that, with a single move of his hand, she could die. That's where she was, her life was hanging by a thin thread, and all this was because of a glance, one little glance he hadn’t liked.

**-Go ahead... Kill me, I know you want it so badly...** She whispered with rage and terror.

He brandished the blade, stopped for a moment and brought it down on the armrest of the chair to cut the rope that held Emilie. She was surprised, but before she could realize it, she was already up, being dragged out of the room. Vaas didn’t tie her wrists, but he blindfolded her. Emilie gesticulated to struggle but the pirate hit her violently on the head which caused her to calm down a bit.

They walked for a few minutes. The coolness of the evening let the horrible heat of the day die slowly. The dew made the ground wet and chilled Emilie’s bare feet. She couldn’t see anything, she could only follow Vaas’ movements to orientate herself. She said nothing during the whole way, but when she felt Vaas slow down a little, she began to struggle, trying to break free of his grip. Vaas did not let her go, he turned in front of her and wrapped a hand around each of her arm to hold her firmly.

**-Let me go! Let me go!** She repeated, shouting.

**-You want me to let you go? Fine!** He said, releasing his grip and raising his arms.

Emilie felt his warm hands leave her cold skin. She was totally destabilized, she saw nothing, she tried to regain her balance, stepping back but at this moment, she tripped and fell backwards.

She did not know what she had tripped on, yet she felt it. It was cold but soft, like... human hair!? Terrified, she began to pull the blindfold off her eyes with her shaking hands. Once done, she discovered with horror what was in front of her.

He was a man buried in the ground...! Only his head was out of the earth, it was tilted the side. His skin was white. His open mouth let out disgusting maggots and flies. Emilie thought she would vomit again at the sight of the corpse. She had the reflex to move away immediately. But by holding her hands backward, she felt something else. She immediately looked at what it was, another head! She then began looking around her, she saw dozens more. She moved in all directions trying to get out of this morbid condition.

Vaas had not moved; he stood with his arms crossed. He watched her struggle and panic, laughing. She ended up back on her feet and, by a strange reflex ran to Vaas to find refuge in his arms. She pressed against him, clinging to his tank top to avoid falling again. Her tears flowed in streams, her breathing was erratic, she watched in horror at the corpses scattered on the ground.

Vaas continued to laugh looking at Emilie.

**-You like it? This is my garden, I worked a lot on it, beautiful, isn’t it?** He asked sarcastically.

She let go of his shirt, stopped crying and walked away from the pirate. She looked at him with a horrified look.

**-Y-you d-did th-that...?** She asked, stammering.

His smile widened and he reached out to grab her arm. She recoiled to stop him, shouting:

**-No, don’t touch me. You psycho!**

Rage seized him again at these words. He violently hit her face, she fell to the ground again. Before she could defend herself, he began to kick her forcefully into the stomach.

**-Who the fuck do you think you are to insult me, you bitch! I’m gonna teach you some fucking respect!**

He continued, again and again, until she started to spit blood. He stopped. He crouched down beside her and took her chin to turn her head and look into her eyes.

**-You must know who’s in command here, perra. I'm the king here, I rule this fucking kingdom, I rule my men, I rule _you_ , I _own_ you. Got it?**

Tears streamed from her rageful eyes.

**-F…k y…u.** She muttered.

**-Excuse me?**

**-Fuck. You.** She repeated more distinctly, greeting her teeth.

He waited a moment. And suddenly began to hit her with his fists again and again. Emilie tried to protect herself but any movement was useless. He was venting all his anger on the girl who cried to the point of tearing her vocal cords. The other pirates who were nearby were laughing when they saw the scene.

Vaas continued, tirelessly. He was attacking her face, her stomach, her legs, her clothes. Soon, Emilie couldn’t stand any longer, she begged with a broken voice:

**-Please, stop! I’m begging you! Stop!**

**-Why? Why should I stop, huh? Give me a reason to do so!** He replied, having to shout over the girl’s incessant screams.

Without thinking, she replied:

**-Because-because you love me!**

Silence. No more cry, no more tear, no more noise. Vaas had stopped dead, as he was frozen in place, eyes wide. Emilie was trying to catch her breath and silence the unbearable pain that was screaming through her body. She was shaking like a leaf, naked on the floor, covered in bruises and blood. She was waiting for his reaction, she knew she shouldn’t have said that, but she hadn’t thought; she had given in.

He stood up, grabbed the girl who was lying on floor and put her over his shoulder to carry her like a potatoes sack. She didn’t struggle anymore, she was beset by pain and soon, she lost consciousness.

* * *

When she woke up, she was lying on the cold hard floor. When she moved, she heard the gnashing of metal and felt something icy impeding her. She was chained by the ankle. Her eyes finally opened, she discovered her surroundings. She was in a cell, damp and dark. She saw nothing, she just felt the cold concrete beneath her bare skin, she could hear the water drops falling one by one, hitting the floor with a crash that echoed in the emptiness of the room. She trembled, she was afraid, she was cold. She curled up to keep herself warm, it was useless. The pain was becoming stronger as her body was waking up. She was crying, once again, she was crying.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A chapter full of emotions! I hope it was not too much... Anyway, thank you for reading, please leave a comment to let me know if you like the story so far! See you next time!  
> Badi-otaku.


	12. Chapter 12

Three weeks.

She had spent three interminable weeks locked in this pitch dark cell, where moisture penetrated her skin and froze her blood. Alone, frightened, hungry, thirsty, frozen, she was exhausted. She was like a poor caged animal.

On her lucky days, she was brought something to eat, well that is a big word to speak of only a few almost rotten pieces of fruit or a small bowl of rice which was too salty to be edible.

Every day, she thought she was dying, and yet she was still alive, every day started like another, over and over. She was living in hell.

* * *

The sun was already high in the sky. The unbearable heat was resurfacing. The jungle was waking up. And the camp was swarming with activity again.

Vaas was in his room, sitting on the edge of his bed, he lit the cigarette he held between his fingers. Someone then came out of the next room, Agnes. She went to the table where she had put her shirt, took it and put it on.

**-You should go see her.** She said simply.

**-Who?** He asked.

**-Emilie.**

Hearing that name, he lifted his head to look at the girl in the eye.

**-No.** He replied sharply.

**-OK, I'll rephrase it: you _have_ to go to see her.** She insisted.

**-You haven’t the right to give me orders, I won’t go.** He replies, annoyed.

**-Vaas, she must be about to die at this moment-** She began to raise her voice, but he cut her off, suddenly standing up.

**-She got what she deserved, period!**

**-Why can’t you leave her alone!? What has she done wrong!?**

He walked quickly to Agnes and firmly gripped at her shoulders. He gave her an angry look. However, she did not look away, even if he scared her a little, she dared to defy him. He eventually closed his eyes sighing.

**-I’m afraid.** He said in a calmer tone.

**-I know.** She reassured him, putting her hand on his arm.

He pushed her, let her go and walked away.

**-No. No, you do not know!** He got angry, once again.

**-Vaas-** She tried.

**-No! No, you do not know what it's like to love someone and to be betrayed by this same fucking person! From one moment to the next, your world collapses, everything you know disappears, you loose _everything_...** He looked into her eyes. **You are alone.**

He didn’t want to relive his experiences, he wouldn’t be destroyed again.

**-Vaas!** She persisted, Vaas was getting really frustrated. **She is _Emilie_ , she is not _Victoria_!** She shouted.

She had crossed the line. He grabbed her by the neck and started to tighten his grip. He looked at her, full of rage, suffocating in his hands. But seconds sufficed to dissuade him from continuing. He released her, she fell to the ground, coughing. He left the room by adding with a threatening voice:

**-Do not talk about her in front of me, _ever_.**

* * *

Emilie was in her cell, like every day, every second, she was waiting. Curled up on the floor, her whole body trembling, she was waiting for death to come take her soul. She was waiting for it, but she didn’t want it to come. She tried to resist, not letting herself die, but her strength gradually left her, and she couldn’t prevent the inevitable.

_That’s stupid. You're an idiot. Why are you holding on like that? You know it's useless._ This voice echoed in her head, she didn’t know where it came from, but she didn’t want to hear it.

**-Shut up.** She whispered in a broken voice.

_Let yourself be taken away, nothing is keeping you here! Look at you, you're pitiful!_

**-Shut your mouth!** She raised her voice a little.

_Stop resisting, you no longer have strength, accept it, you cannot hold on much longer like this!_

**-Leave me alone...**

_You're pathetic!!_

**-Shut up! Leave me alone!! Shut the fuck up!!!** She shouted, sitting up.

She remained silent for a few seconds. Suddenly, the rusty metal door opened with a shrill squeak. A pirate then appeared in the doorframe.

**-¡¿Porque gritas como eso, puta?! ¡Cállate!**   
***Why do you shout like that, you whore?! Shut up!***

Seeing the man rapidly approaching, she curled up and brought her arm over her face as if to protect herself from possible blows and kicks, which were soon coming. He hit her violently with his fists. She lay on the floor, unable to sit up. He then began to kick her in the stomach. When he stopped, Emilie coughed and spat a few drops of blood. He laughed when he saw the young girl dying on the floor. She started to cry. He crouched down and grabbed her hair. He pulled her slightly to lift her.

**-Si no fueras la perra de Vaas, te jodería con mucho gusto.** He groaned, putting a hand on her thigh. **Pues, no tiene que saber lo...** He continued with a lustful voice and a devilish smile.  
 ***If you were’nt Vaas’ bitch, I’d fuck you gladly.* Well, he doesn’t have to know it...***

Emilie had understood every word he had said, but she had no strength left, she couldn’t defend herself. She could only beg and sob. But before he could do anything, another pirate appeared and called him out.

**-¡Luis! ¡Vaas quiere ver su puta, salga!**   
***Luis! Vaas wants to see his whore, get out!***

The pirate complied, growling his displeasure. When he got out Emilie sighed, he was gone. But she barely had time to recover from her emotions that a silhouette appeared in the doorway. She couldn’t see the person because of the intense light that was encrusting by the opening. She only saw a rough shadow but she heard the pirates speak, it was Vaas.

He slowly entered the room, his shoes were causing muffled clapping echoing in the empty cell. The door closed, the darkness invaded the place again. But after only a few seconds, a light was turned on. The old bulb hanging from the ceiling beamed a powerful light. Emilie's eyes, long accustomed to the darkness, couldn’t stand the intensity of this light, her eyes felt like they were burning, she closed them instantly. It was still not enough, she buried her face in her arms and curled up even more.

Vaas was standing beside her, arms crossed, he was watching her. He couldn’t put his eyes off the girl. Completely naked, shivering with cold and fear, covered in bruises, scratches and blood, the view was almost unbearable.

He unfolded his arms and sighed, looking away from her. He had done and seen a lot of horrible things, more horrible than that, in his life. But seeing her like this, he couldn’t. He cursed this sudden weakness, all this was his fault.

**-Vaas...**

He was snapped out of his thoughts by Emilie. Hearing her complaining moans, his heart skipped a beat. She had no more voice, but she was doing her possible to get sounds out of her mouth.

**-Vaas... Get me out of here...** She begged.

He bit his lip. He pitied her. Pity!? He didn’t even recognize himself, why did he pity her? He never had any pity for anyone!

He turned and got as fast as he could out the room. Emilie saw him leave, and with him, a potential hope to get out of this hell. The tears flowed. In a final burst of despair, she yelled:

**-Vaas, I’m begging you, don’t leave me! Please, Vaas!**

He disappeared without a word. The door slammed close, the light turned out. Silence and black surrounded her again. She was alone again. She started to cry all the tears in her body.

* * *

Once outside, Vaas motioned the two pirates to come to him. Both did so and came to stand in front of Vaas. They were still a little reticent, they were a little afraid of Vaas. The latter made himself well aware, then he flashed a big smile and said:

**-Don’t make those looks, hermanos, I won’t eat you!**

He laughed uproariously, placing his arm on both men’s shoulders in a friendly way. Both subordinates looked at each other for a moment before taking example on Vaas and beginning to chuckle.

**-Tell me, chicos, you are the ones who I ordered to watch my puta, right?** He asked.

The two nodded. Vaas nodded in turn with a hint of mockery.

**-And... how many times have you fed her for three weeks ...?**

**-Every other day, approximately, boss.** One of the men replied.

**-And... what did you give her, exactly...?**

Vaas spoke with a quiet but insistent tone, as if something was wrong, the two pirates were beginning to worry.

**-Uh... some fruit or rice...**

**-Ah, I see... And... I guess that you... are the ones who have made all these bruises...**

Had they beaten her? Sure, but they didn’t dare to speak, they started to tense. Vaas gave them pats on the shoulder.

**-Eh, relax, chicos!** He laughed. **She deserved it, that bitch!**

**-Yeah... we beat her up well!** One of the two pirates laughed with Vaas.

The other followed:

**-We made her shut her mouth, yeah! ha ha ha!** This one mimicked the gesture with his fist.

All three continued to laugh. Vaas watched, nodding in approval.

But suddenly, Vaas took out his hunting knife and plunged it violently into one of his subordinates’ belly. He fell to the ground, hands over his wound, trying to stop the blood. He squealed and rolled on the ground. The other pirate had backed up, he watched his superior with a horrified look.

**-You've almost killed her, coños! KILLED her!** Vaas was screaming his lungs.

He paced back and forth between the two men. He stopped in front of one who was agonizing on the floor. Under the rage, he kicked his stomach, he screamed in pain.

**-You fucking useless fucks! You thought you could do everything you please with her, uh!**  
He turned to the other.

**-Who do you think you fucking are!**

He breathed a moment, approached the pirate and placed a hand on his trembling shoulder. He held out his index finger and looked into his eyes.

**-She is _mine_ , you understand…?**

**-I-I. We-so-sorry, boss. We-we thought that-that...** He stammered, he saw his half dead colleague on the floor, he was afraid.

**-I DON’T GIVE A FUCK WHAT YOU THINK!** He yelled before planting the knife in the man’s throat.

The man emptied himself of his blood almost immediately. He fell heavily to the ground. Vaas turned to the other, came and crouched beside him. He looked into his eyes for a second before planting the knife in his chest. He did it again repeatedly unleashing his fury.

**-You. Fucking. Cunt!**

He stopped, sat down, panting. He looked at the two dead bodies lying in pools of blood. He then laid his eyes on his red stained hands and clothes. He started to chuckle a little and finally he stood up and left, ordering his men to get rid of the corpses.

* * *

Emilie did not even have tears to cry anymore. She was sitting against the wall of her cell, curled up, her arms resting on her knees and her head buried between her chest and legs. She rocked slightly back and forth, always repeating the same name with a dry and broken voice.

**-Vaas... Vaas… Vaas...**

When the door opened, she didn’t stop. He approached slowly, crouched in front of her and put something on the floor.

**-Vaas... Vaas… Vaas...**

He put his right hand on the girl’s arm. She shivered looking up. And, illuminated by a tiny yellowish glow, she saw his face.

**-Vaas...** She sobbed.

Without saying a word, he dragged what he had placed on the floor with a hand. Emilie looked down at what he handed her. A tray with a plate full to the brim with meat and rice with a glass filled with fresh water.

She raised her head again to look deeply into Vaas’ eyes. Was it for her? He gave a brief nod to encourage her to take what the tray contained. Her stomach was screaming hunger, her throat tightened and her hands were shaking.

Without thinking any longer, she threw herself on the food that was given to her. She shoveled pieces one by one, barely leaving herself time to swallow the last one. She took the glass of water and drunk it in one gulp. Vaas watched her with a small smile. Not the mischievous smile he used to give, no. It was a sweet smile.

If she could cry, she would have done it. She was so hungry and thirsty, it was like deliverance.

At this rhythm, she quickly finished the plate. Once done, Vaas took the tray and turned slightly to let it aside. He had barely put his eyes back on the girl that she jumped into his arms. She wrapped her frail arms around his neck and pressed herself against him, smelling his scent in the crook of his neck.

His eyes widened in surprise. But he quickly replied to her embrace. He did not know what was going on, but he felt something bubbling inside, deep within his being. He felt something he hadn’t felt for ages.

She was there, she wouldn’t let him go. He was there, he wouldn’t let her go.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so, it's a big change in the story, especially for Vaas. I tried my best to keep the character as what he is and to initiate this change slowly. Keep in mind that he's still the same though, the sadistic psychopath that we know so well. ;)  
> So I hope not to have done it too quickly, I try to recreate Vaas’ psychology as good as I can, I try to imagine what could happen in his head, but it is not easy.  
> So you can tell me what you think... good, not good... You decide!  
> Thank you for reading and see you next time!  
> Badi-otaku.


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here is a little chapter, just to set a few things…

**-I don’t give a fuck about apologies, you fucked up the merchandise! You fucking _idiotas_!**

Emilie was awakened by screams, they seemed to come from far away, they were a bit muffled. But she immediately recognized the voice.

**-Vaas...** She whispered.

She wanted to move, but it was very hard. She took a few seconds to check her surroundings. She was lying on a bed in a dimly lit room. She didn’t recognize the place, there were several beds, perhaps a dozen, but they were all empty.

**-Go back to work! And next time, I put a FUCKING BULLET through your fucking SKULL!**

She could still hear screams.

**-Vaas...** She said again.

That's when a person approached her. Her face was hardly visible but she recognized Agnes. The latter smiled seeing she was awake. Emilie smiled back.

**-Back among us.** She noted. **Come on, I'll help you up.** She said, holding out her arms to help Emilie to sit.

Once sat, Emilie leaned against the headboard. Her vision was a little blurry and she still felt a little dizzy, but she gradually regained consciousness.

Agnes took a chair to come sit at the girl’s bedside. She turned to the night table where she took a towel soaked in cold water. She wiped Emilie’s face and put it back on the table.

**-Thanks.** Emilie said.

**-You okay?** She asked.

**-Yeah, I’m fine.** She replied, sighing, everything was better than rotting in a cell. **Where are we?**

**-Oh, we are in the infirmary, you're safe.** Agnes stated, nodding her head.

Emilie nodded. Everything was fine, she was just tired and her whole body hurt. Emilie began to look through the window that was on the opposite wall. She seemed to look for something. She had the impression that the cries came from outside. She was looking for Vaas.

But she didn’t have to look for very long since the pirate burst into the room. He swung the door open, sighing loudly. He began to take a few steps before noticing Emilie who was staring at him. He stopped dead.

Agnes got up and went to meet him. Once close enough, she whispered something in his ear before giving him a pat on the shoulder and left the room. Vaas watched her leave with a little... panicked look on his face. He sighed again and began to walk slowly towards Emilie who didn’t get her eyes off him.

He sat on the chair Agnes was sitting on a few minutes earlier and looked into Emilie’s eyes. But he couldn’t stand it, he lowered his head. He took a deep breath and spoke, finally:  
 **-She says I should apologize.** He said simply.

At first, Emilie didn’t really understand. He kept his head down, he was triturating his sweaty hands, searching for words.

**-Agnes thinks it can... help me... to forget... to move on... or I dunno know what... So, well...**

He finally raised his head to face her.

**-I’m sorry.**

He felt really uncomfortable; he squirmed on his chair as if that could help. He searched for words, he was ridiculous.

**-I know... I realize what I did to you.** He was moving like a kid, looking everywhere and hesitating to say each word. **And... I don’t know if... you will be able to forgive me... someday. But-**

She cut him off by putting a hand on his. They were burning, while Emilie’s was icy. He looked back into her eyes. They did not say a word. Emilie smiled.

**-It’s okay, everything’s fine.** She whispered.

This simple phrase calmed him. He smiled back.


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: explicit sexual content!

Emilie spent the next week locked up in Vaas’s room. Agnes brought her, from time to time, some papers to draw on, clothes that she made her try on, and other things so that she could kill some time. But Emilie’s favorite activity was enjoying the view out the window. Sounds boring to die, said like that, but Emilie was never tired of seeing the sunlight illuminate the green jungle and the wind bend the tall trees. She was free again.

She felt good, sitting on a chair next to the window; she let the sun beams tickle her face. She closed her eyes and let out a long sigh of contentment. She felt good, but she could discern in the depths of herself, an ounce of fear. Or rather, insecurity. Vaas had left early this morning, and never returned since. And as soon as he had closed the door behind him to leave, she felt that sense of danger. She stayed in this place for the entire afternoon, staring at the sky. Then, Vaas returned. When he entered the room, a weight lifted from Emilie’s shoulders, she felt safe again. Why? She didn’t know. Should it not be the contrary? Maybe. But it didn’t matter.

She didn’t move. And, as for him, he simply dropped a few things on the table before lying on the bed to rest, barely noticing the girl’s presence. Silence, only silence for more than an hour, nothing happened. Emilie was still watching the sky.

But the bright blue then quickly started to turn grey with thick clouds, and then it turned entirely black. The light had darkened, the air had thickened. Suddenly, a lightning tore the darkness of the sky. The thunder rumbled.

One, two, three water drops, soon followed by thousands of others. Emilie then hurriedly got up, she ran to the door, opened it and ran outside. Vaas had barely had time to react. He then rose awkwardly from his bed as the girl disappeared. What was wrong with her? Why had she run away suddenly! He was well decided to catch her, though. He got out under the downpour. Drops of water were fogging his vision and whipping his skin. He ran through the nearly empty camp after Emilie. Despite the water curtain, he could distinguish her vanishing silhouette.

**-If you plan on running away, you’d better run faster!** He shouted sarcastically.

He said that, but he wouldn’t let her go so easily. He quickened his pace slightly but Emilie was already beginning to slow down. She stopped abruptly in the middle of an open area and turned to Vaas. He eventually caught up with her and stopped in front of her, a few feet away.

They remained motionless, one in front of the other, drenched by the pouring rain.

He could see every drop of water roam her face. Every drop that crashed on her forehead, rolled down to her eyes, beaded on her eyelashes before falling to reach her cheeks, running down her jaw before hanging on her chin to fall again and die on the already soaked ground.

She was drenched to the bones, she was beautiful. Her little white dress stuck perfectly to her slender body, exposing every shape, every curve was close to perfection. Her hair, darkened by the wetness, gathered into coarse strands, accentuating her neglected look that made her yet so beautiful.

He continued to look at her for a moment, never tired of resting his eyes on her slender body. She kept her eyes closed and her head up to the sky, enjoying the rain’s coolness.

**-Do you hear that?** She whispered.

He cocked his head to the side, raising an eyebrow in a gesture of incomprehension. Hear what? The sound of rain? For him it was only a deafening hubbub, it was better to silence it as soon as possible. But for her, it was a harmonious melody, sometimes covered by a few rumbling dull that made her heart throb, a symphony that made her homesick.

She smiled slightly.

**-It’s the sound of home.**

He could not prevent his facial muscles from contracting slowly to reveal a softened smile on his lips. He walked a few steps and held his hand out slowly.

**-Come on, we have to go back or you'll catch cold.** He said sweetly.

At last, she opened her eyes, looked at his hand that was waiting to be taken, then lifted her gaze to his eyes, these mesmerizing green eyes that draw your gaze and absorb your thoughts.

Her beautiful smile widened, she took his hand. He immediately plunged her into a passionate kiss, making their blood boil, their members shake and their hearts vibrate. Their inflamed lips danced passionately. The icy water drops that fell on their hot skin made them shiver. The time was like suspended, everything stopped around them, no more movement, no more noise.

They finally reluctantly parted, proceeding to return to the shack where they would be sheltered. They walked a few minutes in silence, never letting go each other’s hand.

They entered the room, Emilie sat back on her chair, as if nothing had happened, watching the streams of water roll down the window. But suddenly, in the corner of her eye, she could see Vaas, pulling his damped tank off.

Her cheeks turned red in a split second. But rather than looking away, she continued to watch him from the corner of her eyes. His muscular torso was covered with a light fuzz of hair that formed a line down along his abs to lead to his waist where the V formed by his hips left to imagine what lay below.

Emilie’s heart skipped a beat. She bit the inside of her lip. Why was he making her feel like that?

She finally turned her head to focus once again on the outside. Vaas came and went from one room to another, not paying much attention to Emilie. But, seeing that she was beginning to shiver slightly, he stood before her and said, with the most natural tone in the world:

**-Take off your clothes.**

She quickly lifted her head towards him, her face turned scarlet.

**-Why?!** She asked, offended.

**-They are soaked, you’re gonna be sick. Take them off.**

His voice was strange, it was full of... kindness. Since when did he care about her health?

Despite her slight surprise, she complied. She stood from her chair, grabbed the hem of her dress and lifted it to remove it. Vaas watched with a small smile on his lips. That had not changed one bit...

When she had finished with her dress, she left it on the chair. She had no bra, so she covered her breasts with one arm to avoid the pirate’s look.

**-Well, what do I do now, you give me something to dress or…** She asked with a tip of annoyance in her voice.

He blinked as if to get out of a trance.

**-Go take a bath, I ran some hot water.**

**-Why would I take a bath?** She dared to take an exasperated tone.

**-‘Cause you’re frozen to the bones.** He replied.

**-I'm not ‘frozen’.**

**-You’re shaking, your skin is covered in goose bumps, you-**

**-Fine, I'm going.** She gave in with a sigh.

She opened the door and entered the bathroom. The steam that was floating in the air already warmed up her a little. She took the last garment she wore off and slowly entered the tub. The heat grasped her cold body, creating a weird but pleasant sensation.

She buried her head under the water, remained a few seconds and came out when she heard the door open. Vaas appeared, completely naked. Emilie quickly turned her head and curled up to cover certain parts of her body. She blushed once again. She hoped that Vaas would go quickly so she could continue bathing peacefully, but instead of that, he entered the tub in turn.

**-Wh-what are you doing?** She asked, embarrassed.

**-I’m taking a bath, duh.** He replied as if it was obvious, well, it was…

**-B-But you could at least wait until I’m done...**

**-If I wait, the water will cool down and we haven’t a lot of hot water, here, so we mustn’t waste.** He explained.

He moaned slightly with satisfaction, feeling the warm water run over his skin, he closed his eyes and relaxed. She gave up, anyway, he had already seen her naked many times...

She then started to wash; she grabbed the soap and began rubbing her skin to get rid of all its dirt. The arms first, then the legs, chest and abdomen, face...

Vaas watched her, with the same smirk on his lips.

She then tried to run the soap on her back, but as she expected, she didn’t have enough room to make these moves. She resigned and put the soap back. Immediately Vaas sat straight and took the object she had just released. He then waved his ordering:

**-Turn around, I’ll do it.**

**-What?** She was surprised, Vaas was offering his help! **No, it's okay, it doesn’t matter...** She reassured softly.

**-Turn around, I’m telling you.** He insisted.

Without arguing any longer, she complied. They were both sitting in the tub, Emilie was turning her back on him. He ran the soap over her glossy skin, gently, to her surprise. Since when was he gentle? She closed her eyes, it was nice, she could not deny it. Nice... but terribly embarrassing, she blushed again.

When he finished, he put the object down. Emilie immediately proceeded to get back into her earlier position but Vaas stopped her by grabbing her by the waist.

**-No-no-no.** He said in disapproval before bringing her to him and adding. **Just stay here.**

She was completely taken aback and had no mind to react. He positioned her between his legs and pressed her against his moist chest. She gathered her ideas and tried to break free, but she did nothing but splashing around while wriggling. She was trapped. Vaas tightened his grip even more, using his second arm. He rested his head over Emilie’s shoulder and whispered in her ear:

**-Shhhh, calm down, it’s alright...**

She eventually stopped. She felt him smile. She felt his arms tighten around her, she felt his breath roll on her skin, she felt his scent invade her nostrils, she felt his chest press against her back. She was petrified, she didn’t dare to move. He inhaled her scent, taking a deep inspiration and releasing a long expiration that gave her goose bumps.

**-You smell good...** He grunted as he buried his face deeper into the crook of her neck.

The girl’s breathing was racing, she was suffocating. Her heart was contracting so hard, it felt like it left a hollow inside her chest with each pulse. But when Vaas’ lips brushed against her thin skin; her heart stopped for an eighth of a second.

**-Vaas...**

**-Say my name.** He growled before moving slightly to come nibble her earlobe, releasing a burning shiver that ran through her from side to side.

**-Vaas.** She gave a little broken cry that reflected fear more than anything else. **S-sto-op.** She continued.

**-Stop? Yet... you seem to like it... am I wrong?**

At these words, he moved an arm to get his hand between her closed thighs. He put his hand on her knee to make her spread them. Emilie had no other choice but to let him do, she felt her body weaken more and more.

His hand then gently rubbed her sex. He did it several times before stopping on a specific point. When he started to touch this sensitive point, she firmly grabbed his arms and let her surprise express.

**-Wha’the fu-uuuuh-ck…**

He grinned, noting her reaction. It encouraged him even more. He continued his precise movements. She felt her lower belly boil, she did not know where it came from, she didn’t care, she loved it.

Suddenly, she was seized with a slight jerk, she threw her head back to rest it on Vaas’ shoulder. He stopped; he did not want to go too far... for now. He let her regain her senses slowly.

Once she calmed down, she released her grip on his arms and raised her head. She then managed to sit straight and to get away from Vaas, his touch was becoming embarrassing. She turned her head toward him. She hadn’t really understood what had just happened.

**-Ho-how did you do that?** She asked, panicked.

He laughed.

**-What? Do not tell me that nobody has ever touched you!** He exclaimed.

It surprised him, yet, she shook her head. Never.

**-I don’t believe you! Even yourself?** He continued.

**-Myself?** She slightly tilted her head to the side, she didn’t understand what he meant.

**-You’ve never touched yourself?!**

Her eyes widened in surprise.

**-No! Why would I do that?** She got indignant.

**-Well, I dunno, to relax...**

The discussion was really out of place, Emilie didn’t feel comfortable at all.

**-No... I mean... it's... weird.** She took a slightly disgusted look.

**-No, it's natural!** He claimed.

He was smiling from ear to ear, it seemed so abnormal for him, she had never done this kind of thing, yet everybody does!

What kind of conversation it is, seriously!? Emilie insisted escaping this embarrassing situation. She stood up quickly, making the water stir in the bathtub. But soon, Vaas did the same. Once standing, he grabbed Emilie by the waist once again, so that he prevented her from going anywhere. He put his mouth to her ear and whispered:

**-Hold on, I'm not done with you.**

He growled like an animal biting the girl’s neck. She was surprised by a sharp pain in the bitten area where a mark was already appearing. But she did not have time to recover. Vaas turned her so that she was facing him and began to lay inflamed kisses along her neck, her collarbone and over her breasts.

She put one hand behind the pirate’s head to bring him even closer to her. She threw her head back as he took one of her breasts in his left hand. She let out a long moan through her half-opened mouth when he took the other in his mouth.

She let her fingers tangled in Vaas’ hair. He used his free hand to stroke her legs, hips and thighs. His touch left a burning mark on Emilie’s skin. Her body was burning, she was weak, she clung to Vaas’ shoulders not to fall.

He lifted his head to put his lips on Emilie’s. He quickly buried his tongue into her mouth and started kissing her passionately. He let a hand rest on her waist while the other went down to her wet core and stroked it gently.

They broke their kiss. Emilie was savoring Vaas’ skilled hands’ movements. It was good, too good. She didn’t control herself anymore-

**-Vaas! Fuck me!**

What? Was she the one who had just shouted that?! Shit, it came out by itself! She would never use this word, ‘fuck’. It was as if someone else had taken control of her being at that moment. She wanted to go back and never have said that. But it was too late, Vaas understood her request very well, and he was determined to satisfy her needs.

He firmly grabbed the girl’s legs and lifted her to position her long legs around his waist. Emilie let out a little squeal of surprise and quickly clung to Vaas’ broad shoulders for support. She also tightened the grip of her legs when he began to move out of the tub.

Vaas did not stop, he touched every inch of her white skin with his passionate lips, making her let out muffled sighs. He carried her into the room without bothering to break away from her. He laid her on the bed slowly, taking care to lay her head on the pillow. He moved away a bit to position himself correctly. He let the cold air flow between their two bodies, giving goose bumps to Emilie. He quickly replaced himself between her legs, Emilie wasted no time and grabbed his neck to bring their hot bodies closer.

She was clearly not herself anymore. She had never done this before, she should have been terrified, everybody is afraid for their first time, right? But now, nothing, she let Vaas take her into the flames of lust, she let him run the show.

He firmly grabbed her thighs, digging his fingers into her flesh. He kissed her again, then stopped. He plunged his golden eyes in her blue ones and smiled.

**-You scared?** He asked in a whisper.

She shook her head to say no. And, without warning, without looking away from her, he entered her. He started slowly but quickly ran into her virginity that he broke with a powerful thrust. A small cry of pain got through Emilie’s lips. A tear ran down her temple as she clutched harder at his muscular shoulders.

The pain was immense, but it didn’t ruin Emilie’s pleasure. It intensified it, it twisted it a strange way that made it exquisite. Her senses were completely mixed, she could not recognize anything. With each movement, she saw stars floating above her. With each grunt, she felt an indescribable scent that excited her even more. With each kiss, she could hear a crackling fire shaking her eardrums.

She was lost. She felt something gradually build deep inside herself. Her body was inflamed, each cell consumed in the boiling pleasure, one by one, until the explosion. Her members shook, her throat knotted, her heart stopped, her vocal cords vibrated, her pupils dilated. She came.

Vaas continued his steady movements, accelerating the pace to carry his partner’s pleasure. He thrusted into her again, once, twice, three times and then released himself inside her with a bestial growl.

They stood still for a few minutes, taking time to catch their breath. Their eyes were still immersed in each other’s. Their bodies were still bound to one another. They were enjoying this moment of total fulfillment together.

Emilie untied her arms from Vaas’ shoulders and gently put a hand on his cheek. The touch was rough, her soft skin touched his nascent beard. She smiled slightly as she saw his tired face. She lifted her head to seal a kiss of infinite sweetness.

Vaas finally dropped Emilie’s thighs. Bruises were already forming where his fingers had pressed the flesh. He looked at her with eyes full of... this thing... what was it called again...? Love? Perhaps, he did not know, that feeling had become, for him, an unknown thing a long time ago.

With a last gasp, they parted. Vaas lay by Emilie’s side. She rested her head on the pirate’s chest, her leg on his waist. He put his arm over her shoulders to bring her closer to him and left the sheets wrap their intertwined bodies.

They closed their eyes. Emilie felt Vaas’ torso gently rise up and down with each breath. She could hear the sound of rain beating the sheet metal roof again. Yet, it had never stopped...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading, as always, leave a comment! Bye bye!  
> Badi-otaku.


	15. Chapter 15

_My eyelids were heavy, my muscles were numb and my joints were stiff. I was lying on my stomach; my arms were wrapped around the pillow my head was resting on. The sheets were soft. But they only covered my legs. I felt the cool air rolling on my bare back. There wasn’t any noise to be heard. I remember falling asleep with the rain noise beating my eardrums, but now, nothing._

_I let out a long sigh, I felt like I slept for an eternity. And I would love it to continue, it was so good. But something was pulling me out of my sleep more and more. I felt something running on my skin, along my spine. A shiver ran through my body, it gave me goose bumps._

_It continued, I couldn’t discern what it was exactly, but I knew who it was. I knew he was by my side, I could fell his heat. I turned my head slightly. I opened my eyelids slowly, everything was blurred, but I saw him. The first thing I distinguished were his two big green eyes which were looking at me, like the first time I saw him, it was in quite another circumstances though…_

_I still felt his index running up and down applying a light pressure on my skin. He was lying on his side, he was leaning on his elbow, staring at me and smiling to me. I was smiling back to him._

**-Did I ever tell you… the definition… of “insanity”…?** He asked with a very calmed voice.

Emilie didn’t answer. He wasn’t actually waiting for a reply. He continued to tickle her, explaining:

**-Insanity is… doing the exact same fucking thing, over and over again, expecting shit to change.**

He stopped his moves and lay on his back again. Emilie got out of her sleepiness a little more and laid her head on Vaas’ chest. He put his arm over her shoulders to get in the position in which they fell asleep again. He kept on talking, looking straight before him, as he was in deep thoughts:

**-That… is… crazy. But the first time somebody told me that, I dunno, I thought he was bullshitting me so-**

**-You shot him?** She said like it was obvious.

He chuckled and replied shaking his head:

**-Yeah. But the thing is… he was right. And, you see… it was the same thing with you.**

**-Huh?**

**-I was telling myself that, by making you suffer, I would get rid of this feeling. But… every time, I regretted… So I did it again, over and over again, hoping it would stop. But it was useless…**

He stopped talking for a moment, turned his head to Emilie who was still staring at him and asked in a whisper:

**-Do you think I’m insane?**

She didn’t answer immediately. She continued to look at him in the eyes, he looked so… different.

**-I think so.** She admitted.

A hint of disappointment appeared on his face.

**-But, She continued. We all are, no?**

This remark made Vaas smile. But he suddenly changed the topic of the discussion. He started to get up, Emilie then pulled away to let him do so.

**-Well, time to get up!** He stated.

Emilie lay again to stay in bed and try to go back to sleep. But Vaas shouted:

**-For you as well, get up!**

**-Why?!** She protested.

**-You’re gonna come with me.** He replied.

She then resigned herself and started to move.

**-Where?** She asked.

**-Outside.**

**-Wow, thanks Captain Obvious!** She said sarcastically.

**-You will see. Get up, get dressed and follow me.** He ordered.

He already began to get dressed when she got out from bed. She then went into the bathroom where she had, in a drawer, some clean underwear. She put on a very simple set and returned in the bedroom.

She walked to the chair where she had left her dress. But before she could take it, Vaas stopped her:

**-You're not going to wear this!**

**-And... what can I wear instead...?**

He pointed a finger toward the table. Indeed, a small pile of clothing was laid on it. She went to it and looked at the clothes that were given to her. There was a red tank top, black denim pants, a red bandana and black military boots. It was the outfit almost all the pirates wore. Emilie didn’t like that, it gave her the impression she was "one of them".

However, she did not protest and put the outfit on. The clothes seemed to be made for a woman, they fit her perfectly. However, once she put the boots on, she realized how uncomfortable they were. She tried to position her feet so that she wasn’t suffering too much but it was useless, oh well.

She went in the bathroom to tie her hair with the bandana and came out. Vaas was no longer in the room, he was already outside. Emilie did not think any longer and left the room in turn.

The light blinded her. The heat seized her. But a gentle breeze caressed her face. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Ah, she missed the outside so mu-

**-It’s okay? You're done, we have no fucking time to waste.** Vaas interrupted her thoughts.

He immediately began to walk. Emilie stuck her tongue out at him, but she followed him without protesting anymore. She walked a few steps behind him, head down, as if she was ashamed.

**-By the way...** He said, turning his head. **The red suits you perfectly.**

Emilie thought his compliment to be a mockery.

**-Shut the fuck up...** She sighed, exasperated.

He stopped right away. She almost bumped into him but stopped in time. She thought he would not have heard her, but apparently she had spoken too loudly. He turned abruptly and took Emilie's chin. She jumped and tried to struggle. He put his face at a couple of inches from hers and said through gritted teeth:

**-It's not because I fucked you once that you can think everything is permitted, puta. You're still my prisoner and I can do what I want of you. So you'd better respect me if you don’t want to end up like your two bitches sisters.**

Emilie nodded, trembling slightly. The "real Vaas" had returned.

**-S-sorry.** She said.

He smiled and let her go.

**-Good, Querida.**

Oh, it’s been long since he had not used that nickname. Emilie had no time to think about anything, Vaas started walking again. Emilie did the same.

They walked through the aisles of the camp that was filled with pirates. They were all looking at Emilie. She lowered her head again as if to hide herself from their eyes. Like every time she went out, stares, inappropriate comments, wolf whistles. Did they never see a girl in their lives, those asshole?! Emilie quickened her pace to get closer to Vaas and took his arm as if to protect herself. He just threatened her to kill her, but the only place she felt safe here, it was close to him.

He smiled slightly as he felt her tiny hand squeeze his muscular arm. He was quite proud of it, actually.

**-They won’t do anything to you as long as I'm around, they are not stupid enough!** He stated with a chuckle.

But, she wasn’t very reassured though. ‘As long as I'm around’, it meant that if he was not there, it could happen anything to her!

They kept on walking. Emilie tried to ignore the pirates and keep up with Vaas. They finally arrived at one of the many huts in the camp. Emilie recognized the infirmary.

**-Go and see Agnes, ask her for a pill and when you're done, join me there.** He said showing the location with the finger.

He then started to leave. But Emilie stopped him.

**-Uh... a pill?** She had not understood what he meant.

He sighed and turned around to enter the building. Emilie followed him. Inside, Agnes was sitting at the table, she seemed to sort some kind of pill bottles. She stood up when they entered. Vaas spoke immediately showing Emilie who was standing behind him:

**-I fucked her last night, I didn’t pull out so give her something to prevent her from getting knocked up, please.**

With this very elegant words, he left the room, closing the door behind him. Emilie was a little embarrassed. Agnes was surprised, she started to panic slightly.

**-Is that true?!** She asked immediately.

**-What?**

**-What he just said!** She said. **Well, it doesn’t matter, sit down, I'm going to give you something.**

Emilie sat down on a bed and looked Agnes searching in a large cabinet full of drugs. She took a box out, opened it and took one of the pills that were in it. She filled a glass with water and gave everything to Emilie. She swallowed the pill with water and put the glass down on the table.

Agnes then came to sit next to Emilie. She took her hands as if to comfort her and looked at her in the eyes before asking her with concern:

**-You okay?** She asked.

**-Uh... yes...** Emilie did not understand exactly where she was going.

**-If you need to talk, I'm here.** Agnes reassured.

**-Uh... okay, but... why?**

Agnes was a little surprised Emilie asked ‘why.’ She explained herself:

**-To tell the truth, I thought it would have gone wrong, knowing Vaas...**

**-You talk about last night?** Emilie asked.

Agnes nodded. Emilie looked away from her friend as if to remember the events of the day before.

**-No, it was... good.** She said. **Very good.** She corrected, blushing slightly.

‘Good’… ‘Good’?! It was more than good! It was wonderful! She lowered her head, she was embarrassed just thinking back about it.

Agnes smiled slightly, she was relieved. Agnes’ first time had been terrible. And the last thing she wanted to Emilie was to experience the same thing. A sad look appeared on her face thinking about this event.

**-Agnes?** Emilie snapped her out of her thoughts.

She swallowed her sadness and gave a wide smile.

**-Yes, what’s going on?**

**-Can I ask you something?** Emilie asked softly.

**-Of course. Tell me.** She replied, nodding.

**-Who is Victoria?**

Agnes stood up and widened her eyes with surprise.

**-Where did you hear that name?** She asked, a little panicked.

**-Uh... I heard Vaas say it while he slept. Did I do something wrong...?** Emilie worried seeing Agnes’ reaction.

The latter sighed and sit back next to Emilie.

**-Excuse me. No, you did nothing wrong. But never repeat it in front of Vaas, you understand me?**

Emilie nodded her head.

**-Well. It's a long story. But, roughly, she was his fiancée... somehow.**

**-Vaas? Having a fiancée?!** Emilie couldn’t believe it.

**-Yeah, I grant you, it's weird, but it was...** **before.**

**-‘Before’? You mean... before he became a pirate, and all that...?**

**-Yeah. Since then, it has changed a lot.** Agnes said.

**-Tell me.**

**-What?**

**-What happened? Tell me, please.**

**-Well, as I told you, it's a long story and it is rather dark...**

**-It doesn’t matter. Please, I need to understand why he became like that.**

Agnes looked at her a few seconds and gave in.

**-Yes, you're right.** She nodded slightly. **Well, where to start?** She paused for a moment, then speaking again. **Vaas was born on this island, like her sister and their mother. But his father, as for him, came from Argentina. He and his sister lived here for much of their childhood, but when Vaas was about ten years old, all four of them went to live in Argentina. They stayed there for eight years. There, Vaas fell in love with a girl: Victoria. He loved her more than anything, he said it was ‘the love of his life.’**

She smiled softly remembering it, Emilie smiled back and Agnes resumed her story:

**-However, after eight years, they had to return on the island as Hoyt had killed the leader of the Rakyat (their mother's brother) and they needed a new leader. Of course, Vaas did not want to leave Victoria, so she came with them. Vaas' father had taken the head of the tribe and they continued to live normally (except the battles waged against the privateers, of course). Vaas was pretty happy with this life. But his sister loved him more than anything, and vice versa, and she started to become jealous of Victoria who spent a lot of time with him. In fact, she was more than jealous, she hated Victoria. She felt like she monopolized her brother, so she felt neglected. She was desperate to get rid of Victoria. Then one night, she killed her own parents in their sleep.**

**-What?!** Emilie could not believe it, it was much more than jealousy! **This is horrible!** Agnes nodded and continued her story.

**-Vaas was broken, his parents had been killed, but he did not know by whom. He swore to her sister to find the murderer and kill him. She claimed to know who it was, she denounced Victoria. She lied telling him Victoria had killed their parents so that Vaas could take the head of the tribe, and so that she could become the ‘queen’. Vaas could hardly believe _his_ Victoria could do that, but he loved his sister too much to refuse to honor his promise. I was there at that time, she might beg, tell him she hadn’t done anything, tell him she loved him, nothing worked. He killed her with a bullet in the head. He was totally shocked, it was the first time he killed someone.**

Emilie was no longer speaking.

**-From this day on, he led the tribe with the help of his sister who he promised to protect no matter what happened. But she wanted more, always more. She wanted to give birth to the ‘perfect warrior’ to lead the Rakyat. But the only way to do this was that Vaas was the father of this child.**

Emilie's eyes widened.

**-Of course, he refused. But she insisted, and by dint of arguing against each other, shouting, insulting, she confessed to him that what she had said was a lie and that she was the person who had killed their parents. Vaas was upset, he wanted revenge and they began to fight. But even if he wished she was dead, he did not want to hurt his sister, this was his weakness. She didn’t hesitate to use it against him and she managed to hit him. He was only wounded in the head, but he was almost dead. He would have been if it hasn’t been for Hoyt. He wasn’t dead, but the Vaas he had been throughout his whole life no longer existed. After that, he was no longer able to love anyone, not even to trust anyone for fear of being betrayed or rejected. He was completely destroyed by this. He became addicted to drugs and murder. And today, that's what he is...** **all because of this-** She stopped and breathed.

**-His sister is Citra, right?** Emilie asked.

Agnes nodded. They remained silent a few minutes. But Emilie remembered that she had to join Vaas. She stood up, thanked Agnes and left the room.

Once outside, she started walking towards the place Vaas had showed her. By the way, he left her alone, she could have escaped, although it wasn’t her intention. Nonetheless, did it mean he trusted her? Maybe. Or maybe he hadn’t even thought about it… It doesn’t matter.

She went to a small warehouse, she waited for Vaas outside the door. There were many pirates around her, she was not comfortable at all.

She was waiting, but Vaas was still not there, she looked around her, turning her head to all sides. But suddenly, she felt a powerful hand grab her arm firmly.

**-What the fuck are you doing here?** The man asked, growling.

She first recognized the voice, the accent she hadn’t heard anywhere else. She then turned her head to look at him. A golden chain, a shirt worn under a black suit jacket. She immediately recognized Hoyt. She tried to break free of his grip but he did not let go and used his other hand to firmly grab her chin.

She looked at him with fear and anger. She only had seen him once, but it was enough to know how dangerous he was.

**-I recognize you, you're one of the hostages. But you were supposed to be sold!** He stated.

That's right, she should have been sold. But Vaas decided otherwise, and apparently, Hoyt wasn’t aware of it.

**-You're coming with me!**

He started to pull her to make her move but she resisted.

**-Let me go, you son of a bitch!** She shouted.

He then let go and gave her a huge slap. She fell to the ground in shock. He leaned over and took her by the arm to get her on her feet. But then, Vaas got out of the building and called out Hoyt.

**-Eh! It's okay, she's with me!**

He walked to the both of them and helped Emilie to stand up. Her cheeks turned scarlet and tears filled her eyes. Hoyt glared at Vaas.

**-Get in.** Vaas ordered to Emilie.

She immediately complied and entered the building. Hoyt took one step towards Vaas and started to shout.

**-What the fuck?! You told me you sold her! It's been more than three months now, what the hell did you do?!**

**-Oh relax, hermano! It's your client, this prick, he gave me fucking counterfeit bills!**

**-And then, what did you do?**

**-Duh, I shot him!**

Hearing the answer, Hoyt closed his eyes, pinched the bridge of his nose between his thumb and index, sighing.

**-Fuck, VAAS! It was one of my best customers!** He shouted, watching the pirate in the eyes again. **And you didn’t think of selling her to someone else?**

He left no time to Vaas to reply and continued, calming down a bit:

**-Well, leave her to me, I'll do it as you're not FUCKING ABLE to do it YOURSELF!**

**-No.** The pirate replied simply.

**-What?**

**-She isn’t for sale!**

**-Vaas, do you realize how much money she is worth? We hadn’t had a chick like that for ages!**

**-She is already worth half less now!** Vaas replied.

**-How that?**

Vaas crossed his arms and smiled smugly.

**-She isn’t virgin anymore.** He said with provocation.

**-Vaas, don’t tell me that you-** Vaas stopped him.

**-I did.** He sneered.

**-Four million dollars, Vaas.** Hoyt growled. **Four FUCKING million dollars!** He repeated.

He was so angry he had trouble finding his words. Vaas was still smiling widely, he liked to piss off his boss. Hoyt sighed and put a hand on Vaas’ shoulder. He looked into his eyes and said with a terrifying tranquility.

**-If you weren’t so useful to my business, I would tear your eyes, I would flay you and I would feed you to the dogs.**

He gave him a pat on the shoulder as if to say "think about it" before leaving.

Vaas unfolded his arms, looking at him walk away. Emilie appeared in the large warehouse door frame. She looked terrified and didn’t dare to go out. Vaas turned to her, he looked a little angry.

**-Where the fucked were you, I've been waiting for you for at least ten minutes!** He asked her with a voice full of reproach.

**-Uh, I-**

He did not give her time to finish and walked towards her to take her by the wrist. He slightly turned the girl’s arm to inspect the bruises that were already appearing on it. Emilie let him do. In fact, she was staring at Vaas. She thought about the story Agnes told her. It was as if she understood everything, all at once. She understood how he became what he is now. She understood why he was acting like that. She understood _him_.

**-Hey, are you listening to me?** He asked, snapping his fingers for reaction.

She quickly came back to reality. She blinked several times and looked at Vaas in the eyes.

**-Repeat what I just said.** He ordered.

**-Uh... You asked me if-**

**-No.** **That's what I thought, you haven’t listened to anything.** He sighed.

**-Sorry...** She said, lowering her head.

**-Stop apologizing, it's useless and it piss me off.** He replied, a little more edgy.

**-Sor-** She stopped before saying it again.

**-Okay so, you’re gonna follow me, we’re gonna go for a walk around the area and I'll show you how it works here.** He repeated.

**-Why?**

**-If you stay here, you have to be useful, no?**

She nodded. So here she was, she was going to work, like them, the pirates... This perspective wasn’t very nice, but...

Vaas looked at her straight in the eyes and held his finger at her.

**-You stay close to me and you listen to me, I won’t repeat myself. Comprende?**

She nodded again before they started to walk again. She kept on looking at him while thinking. And for the first time since she knew him, she felt some… compassion.


	16. Chapter 16

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi guys, here is the chapter 16, sorry for the wait! Hope you'll enjoy!

Emilie and Vaas entered the warehouse. The place was rather dark, it was only lit by a few neon lights hanging from the metal frame. In the right corner, in front of them was a kind of encloses. Emilie was a little disgusted when she saw the fat and dirty pigs that were locked inside. The smell, the sounds, it was disgusting. She hurried to catch up with Vaas. They passed a small room closed with a thick metal door, surely a cold room. Then, they passed a pile of stacked wooden crates. Some were open, Emilie could see that they contained fruits or vegetables.

**-That’s the place where we store the food.** Vaas said, stopping to look at her. **Nobody can enter here expect the cook, me, the guys who unload the goods and, from now on, you.**

She nodded and they continued to walk towards a metal door that closed another small room. Vaas stopped in front of it and opened it. Emilie could see the room. It seemed to be a kitchen, the walls and floor were tiled. A smell of cooking –that was not really appetizing- invaded Emilie’s nostrils and reggae music beat her eardrums.

Vaas entered, Emilie did the same and took a closer look at the room. It was a pretty normal though rather poorly equipped kitchen. There was a small window overlooking the outside, most of the light came from an old bulb hanging from the ceiling. In the center, was a table at which was sitting a man. He was peeling some potatoes but stopped and looked up at Vaas when he noticed his presence.

**-Hi Boss, what's up?**

He was a black-skinned, corpulent man and he had a strong Jamaican accent.

**-Aaron, la chica who’s behind me is Emilie.** Vaas said, showing Emilie over his shoulder. She stepped forward and nodded to greet the unknown man. **She will work with you, you can make her do the washing up, peeling chores or stuff like that, it's up to you.** He continued. **If anything happens to her during her work time, you will be responsible.**

The said Aaron stood up a little abruptly and shook his head.

**-Sorry Boss, but I don’t work with a kid around.** He said scornfully.

**-OK, but _I'm_ in command here, I tell you that you're going to make her work then you’re gonna do it!** He replied, starting to get angry.

**-OK, OK.** He gave in with a sigh.

Emilie then began to move towards the cook. Cooking, okay, it shouldn’t be that hard to do...

Vaas then turned around to go out, leaving Emilie alone with the man. She stood waiting for him to tell her what to do. As he sat down again at the table to keep on working, she did the same and sat down.

**-So who are you? The Boss’ whore?** He asked with a smirk on his lips.

Emilie hated how he had just called her. She crossed her arms and said with a despicable voice:

**-I’m not his ‘whore’.**

His smile widened and he replied:

**-So what are you?**

That's true, what was she? His hostage, his prisoner, his slave, his bitch? She didn’t know what to say. Aaron laughed. She uncrossed her arms and bowed her head, she felt ridiculous.

**-Well, don’t stand there not doing anything. Take a knife and help me.** He ordered, pointing to the wall on which hung a series of knives that didn’t seem really clean.

She then got up and went to take one. She took one of the smallest she found and went back to sit at the table to help the cook. They remained more than ten minutes without speaking, without looking at each other. Then he began:

**-So, your name is Emilie, isn’t it?**

**-Why? Do you really give a fuck about it?** She replied dryly.

He dropped the knife he had in his hands and looked at her straight in the eye.

**-Listen, I know I haven’t been very nice to you at first, but now I’m trying to make an effort not to make a hell out the hours we will spend here. So let's calm down and restart from the beginning. What is your name?**

Emilie was a little shocked. She really took him for an asshole who would spend his time pissing her. But he was pretty cool, actually. She blinked as if to get out of her thoughts and said in a small voice:

**-Sorry. My name’s Emilie Durand. But... I guess my family name doesn’t mean anything here...** She confessed.

**-Aaron Zuma.** He said.

He held out his hand. Emilie took it. They shook hands as a sign of peace. And they both went back to work.

**-How old are you?** He asked. **You seem to be young.**

**-Eighteen.** She replied.

Hearing her answer, he shook his head slowly, taking a slightly disgusted look.

**-What’s the matter?** She didn’t quite understand his reaction.

**-Do that to children, with no shame at all...** He whispered.

Uh... She was dreaming or he just criticized Vaas? But she had no time to ask more questions, she was seized with a sudden nausea. She rose from her chair and ran to the sink. She vomited the meal she had had the night before.

Aaron immediately stood up as well. He approached her. She sat up when it was over.

**-You okay?** He asked with a hint of concern.

**-Yes, yes. It's just...** She sighed. It must be the side effects of the pill, she had already heard about it. At least, it meant that it worked, right?

Aaron sat back and finished to peel some potatoes that remained.

**-There is water in the fridge if you want.** He said gently.

**-Thanks.**

She poured herself a glass of fresh water and drank it. She felt like she hadn’t the same person in front of her anymore. He was really nice to her. Maybe it was her age that had made him change his mind about her...?

She returned to the table. She rested for a moment trying to regain her senses. Aaron continued his work, coming and going from one place to another. The heavy silence reigned once more. Emilie decided to resume the conversation.

**-And you, how old are you?**

**-Thirty nine.**

She nodded.

**-Do you have a family?** She asked.

He stopped and took a deep breath.

**-I had one.** He corrected.

**-Oh...** She didn’t know what to say. **Sorry.**

Well, it was perhaps not a good idea to make conversation. She went silent. They remained in silence for another hour. Emilie still felt a little nauseous and tired but it was much better.

She was lost in her thoughts. She was motionless on her chair, her elbow on the table, her head resting on her hand and staring into space. But suddenly she got out of this state of torpor when Aaron put a heavy pot on the table. She sat up.

**-Can you help me?** He asked politely.

**-Yes.** She nodded. **What do I have to do?**

**-Fill the bowls with rice.** He said, putting a pile of small metal bowls.

She nodded again, got up and started to work. One by one, she made portions. Once all the bowls were filled, she laid them on the tray that Aaron had given her. She piled it ensuring that nothing falls.

She had barely finished when someone entered the room. She turned around and saw Vaas. She held a small smile, in fact, she had missed him a little.

**-Boss.** Aaron greeted him with a nod before continuing his work.

Vaas didn’t answer him and walked over to Emilie.

**-Take that with you and follow me.** He ordered her indicating the tray.

She did so. The set was rather heavy, she was a bit unbalanced but she soon stood right and began to follow Vaas outside. They left the warehouse. It was even warmer than this morning, the sun was hitting. They walked for a few minutes. Emilie was breathing harder and harder. Sweat beaded on her forehead and her neck. The heavy burden she was carrying reminded her how she wasn’t used to make an effort anymore.

They finally came to a place Emilie knew very well. It was the place where pirates were keeping the hostages. They were perhaps twenty or so, they were scattered in bamboo cages. They looked exhausted, terrified, hungry and thirsty. Emilie swallowed thinking she had been in their place too.

Vaas took her to the first cage. Two women and a man were locked inside. Emilie met one of the women’s look, a look of sadness and fear. Emilie didn’t dare to look longer. Vaas motioned her to give a portion to each hostage. She did so.

As soon as she handed the bowls, they fell over it like animals. Emilie felt they were no longer human. She turned to Vaas who advanced to another cage. Inside were four men. Emilie did the same thing, they did too.

Emilie and Vaas went on their way, cage after cage to feed the hostages. They came to the last one. A woman was sitting inside. She had her legs folded against her chest. She was holding something tightly in her arms. Emilie looked closer. She couldn’t believe it, it was a baby, wrapped in a blanket. She was holding it with all her might against herself, trembling. Emilie almost cried at the sight. They didn’t even have pity for women with children!

**-Eh, you!** Vaas called out one of the pirates who were near.

**-Problem, Boss?** The pirate asked.

Vaas made a gesture of incomprehension towards the young woman. The other understood what he meant and said:

**-She doesn’t want to let go, we tried to take it from her but there is nothing to do.**

Vaas walked toward the door of the cage and opened the padlock. He took the last remaining portion of rice on the tray Emilie was holding and entered the cage. He crouched in front of the young woman and put the bowl beside her. He looked at her for a few seconds before holding out his hand to get her chin between his thumb and forefinger to make her look up.

She was shaking even more. Her teeth creaked. She looked desperate. Her eyes were filled with tears and imploring the mercy of the pirate. Vaas wiped away a tear with his thumb before asking in a whisper:

**-What is your name, chica?**

**-A-Ash-Ashley.** She replied, stammering.

Vaas nodded and continued:

**-Well, Ashley, you're hungry, no?**

She nodded.

**-This is for you.** He said, pointing to the bowl of rice.

She looked at what he showed. She wanted to take it but she remembered that she had her child in her arms. She renounced and squeezed the baby harder. Emilie watched the scene, stunned. Vaas looked so calm and patient. He held out his hands and said gently:

**-I can keep it if you want.**

She shook her head vigorously and moaned:

**-You are going to hurt him.**

**-No, I'm not going to do anything to him...** He whispered.

After a few seconds of stares. She dared to hand her child to Vaas still trembling as much.

**-Be careful, he’s fragile.** She sobbed.

Vaas took the baby gently in his arms and stood up. The young woman began to eat as fast as she could. During this time, she didn’t notice that Vaas went out of the cage. He locked the door again and started to leave, motioning to Emilie to follow him. Vaas still had the child in his arms. When they got a little further, Emilie asked a little distraught:

**-What are you gonna do with him?**

**-Calm down.**

**-You’re going to kill him, right? You are monsters! You-**

He turned abruptly and cut her off:

**-HE IS DEAD! OK?**

Emilie's eyes widened. Dead? But...

Her gaze broke away from Vaas’ face to settle on the small form he held in his arms. She saw his little face. Greyish complexion, eyes closed, mouth ajar. He wasn’t moving. Emilie did not have the strength to look at him longer, she turned her head.

**-So, wh-why did she-she still have hi-m in her arms?** She asked, stammering.

**-If you saw your child dying slowly in your arms without being able to do anything, how would you react?** He said, annoyed.

Emilie thought about the young woman’s behavior. It was as if she wasn’t seeing that her child was no longer living. Or rather as if she denied it. Death is too hard to accept. It's horrible...

**-Go back to the kitchen and wait for me there.** Vaas ordered, snapping Emilie out of her thoughts.

She obeyed without hesitation. She walked as quickly as she could. She still couldn’t believe it. She felt sad and guilty. Why? She didn’t know. She felt her throat tying, her tears coming to her eyes, her legs trembling.

Vaas’ sentence echoed in her head. "If _you_ saw _your_ child dying", "in _your_ arms"... She started imagining herself in the young woman’s place. Sadness, helplessness, hopelessness, pain. She broke down. She leaned against the wall of a building and slid all the way down to touch the ground. She then began to cry all the tears of her body. She curled up and buried her head in her arm to empty her feelings into her tears.

It wasn’t only the event she had just lived that made her cry so much. But it was the accumulation of all the frustration, anger, hatred, sadness, and even love. One emotion had made her reach her limit. And here she was, crying like a little girl, alone and desperate.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading, please leave a comment to let me know what you think! Bye!  
> Badi-otaku.


	17. Chapter 17

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi! Here is the chapter 17, I took A LOT of time to publish it, sorry... Hope you’ll like it, as always...  
> Thanks for your kudos!

It was one of these days, when the heat was choking, when the sun roasted your skin and burnt your eyes. There were many things to do, like every day, no time to take a break to drink and rest. Juan was walking on one of the dirt paths within the compound. He had just had a lunch and was going back to work.

But when he walked passed a shack that lined the road, he heard someone, crying. He stopped and turned his head. A young woman was sitting against the wall, she was crying loudly, hiding her face in her arms. He managed to recognize her, though. He knew she was this ‘Emilie’.

She looked weak and desperate. But he had better things to do than taking care of her. Actually, he didn’t really care whether she laughed or cried. Why would he care about her anyways?

He made a first step to leave but stopped once again. His conscience told him not to leave her. He looked at her again. He then sighed and walked towards her.

**-Hey!** He called out.

She didn’t respond, she kept on weeping. He crouched in front of her and held out his hand to touch her shoulder. She had barely felt his touch when she lifted her head and backed up abruptly.

**-Don’t touch me!** She shouted.

He pulled away slight. She started wriggling to stand up and leave but he stopped her by raising his hands to show her he wasn’t going to hurt her.

**-It’s okay! I’m not gonna do anything to you, calm down.**

She stopped to look at him in the eyes. No, he didn’t seem hostile. She was distrusted though. She sniffed and wiped her tears away with the palm of her hand.

**-What do you want?** She asked sharply.

**-I saw you crying, I wanted to help you.** He answered.

‘Help her?’ These pirates were definitely nicer today!

**-You okay?** He asked.

She nodded, took a deep breath and dried her tears for good.

**-You shouldn’t stay alone, it’s dangerous around here.** He said standing up.

**-No kidding…** She replied with mockery.

He sighed. She really could keep that one for herself. He just wanted to help her and she mocked him!

She stood up in turn and took the tray she still had to bring back to the kitchen. She seemed to be in a better state, Juan decided to leave her. But she stopped him:

**-Er… Do you know where I could find Vaas?**

He thought for a second and answered:

**-He must be in his shack, at this time, having his lunch.**

She nodded to thank him and they both walked away.

After bringing the tray back in the kitchen, Emilie went back to Vaas’ shack. She was starting to know the path. She walked as fast as she could, avoiding the pirates.

She eventually arrived there. She stepped towards the door and opened it slowly. Inside the room, she saw Agnes sitting at the table. When she entered and closed the door, she saw Vaas sitting on the couch, eating the content of a dish that was laid on the coffee table.

Agnes stood up from her chair and approached Emilie. She then held out what seemed to be a box of tablets.

**-Take one of these every day at fixed hour. When you run out, you come to see me, OK?**

Emilie took a little time to understand what it was. She pondered and deduced that what Agnes gave her were… contraceptive pills. She had never been on the pill before, but she knew how it worked, and what it was used for…

She nodded and Agnes left as soon. Emilie turned to Vaas and said, while showing the box:

**-So… I guess we’re gonna do it again…**

She sounded disappointed.

**-What, you don’t like it?** He asked.

She didn’t answer, but her cheeks went red. Vaas chuckled at that sight. She turned quickly to head in the bathroom and put the object away. She then came back in the bedroom. Vaas handed her another dish in which were some rice, meat and vegetables. He slid it towards her.

Emilie came to sit on the floor, in front of Vaas, to be at the height of the coffee table. She took the fork that was beside and took a mouthful of her meal. She still wasn’t really hungry, she still felt a little sick. She put the fork down and stood still.

She was looking at Vaas. He was eating quickly, bite after bite, not losing any time. But he stopped, seeing the motionless girl. He frowned.

**-You don’t eat?** He asked pointing at her still full dish.

She shook her head to say no.

**-I’m not very hungry.** She said softly.

**-You’d better eat; I don’t want to fuck a skeleton.** He stated laughing.

This joke didn’t please her. She sighed but decided to keep on eating. He wasn’t totally wrong, after all, she had already lost a lot of weight.

They continued eating in silence. When Vaas finished, way quicker than Emilie, he sat comfortably in the couch and continued staring at her. After a while, he noticed something. Her eyes were slightly red, and it seemed like tears had fallen on her cheeks.

**-You cried.**

She swallowed what she had in her mouth before answering lying poorly:

**-No.**

He smiled, stood straight and insisted:

**-Yes, you did.**

She sighed and lowered her head. A sad look then appeared on her face. Vaas stood up and started to walk towards his bed. Upon walking behind Emilie, he stopped.

**-If you want to survive here, you have to be strong. You must never falter, or you will be eaten in a split second.**

She remained silent for a moment.

**-I’ve never asked to be here.** She replied sharply.

He smiled, crouched down and whispered in her ear:

**-No, but you are.**

He stood up as soon and walked towards his bed. There, he lay down folding his arms under his head. He let out a long sigh of contentment while closing his eyes. He started to fall asleep slowly. Emilie was staring at him, motionless.

**-Aren’t we supposed to go back to work?** She asked innocently.

He chuckled slightly.

**-Later, Querida, let me rest a little. I never skip _una siesta_.**

He paused before resuming:

**-You should get some sleep too, you seem a little edgy.** He said with a mocking tone.

She sighed. Well, it couldn’t be bad for her. She stood up and went to sit on the couch. It was old and not that comfortable, but it would do it. She started to undo her shoe laces. When she took them off, the pain got worse. She knew it this morning, putting them on, that she would suffer, but not as bad as this! It’s torture!

**-How can you walk with these shoes all day!** She said to Vaas.

He smiled slightly.

**-Routine, I guess.**

Her face tensed in pain once again. She then lay on the couch and closed her eyes to sleep. She wasn’t used to sleep in the middle of the day, but right now, she was exhausted.

**-Well, I think you’re kinda sexy with these shoes on.** He commented remaining motionless and keeping his eyes closed.

**-Hahaha, very funny…** She said sarcastically.

He didn’t answer. He just smiled. They fell asleep after a few minutes in a complete silent.

* * *

 

Emilie was lost in a deep sleep. Her breathing was slow and steady. Her body was relaxed and her mind was letting go in passionate dreams. She didn’t want to wake up, she felt so good, as if the sleep protected her from the hell that she would live if she woke up.

But suddenly, no more dream. Total black. Her breathing cut, her body tensed. She opened her eyes abruptly. An infernal smile and shining eyes loomed over her.

**-Bouh.**

Emilie jumped. She screamed. Her reflexes gained the upper hand. She slapped him.

She was forced to regain her senses in less than a second. The man in front of her had backed up, he was rubbing his cheek to soften the pain. She hit hard, that bitch!

**-What the fuck is wrong with you!?** Vaas shouted.

**-What?! What the fuck is wrong with _you_!? You scared the shit out of me! ** She replied getting up.

He suddenly laid his gaze on her. A dark gaze, like the one she was sadly used to. Shit! She had angered him again! But she didn’t chicken out. She held his gaze, folding her arms. He lifted his head. He still had his hand on his cheek. They stared at each other for a few seconds.

Vaas then started to laugh. Slightly at first, then he burst in giggles. Fucking lunatic! Emilie slumped on the couch and started to put her shoes on while Vaas continued laughing out loud.

**-You should have seen your face!** He mocked.

Emilie fumed, exasperated by his comment. He was three years old, or what!

He finally stopped. He wiped away a little tear that was appearing at the corner of his eye. And he walked to Emilie. He held out his hand towards her face to stroke her cheek gently with the back of his fingers.

**-You’re angry, I see it.** He said, almost whispering.

Elle folded her arms once again and looked somewhere else. She didn’t want to see this fool’s face!

He pulled away and went to the table. He put his gun and his knife in his holster and turned to Emilie.

**-Right! Time to go back to work!** He stated with a theatric enthusiasm.

**-Great…** She said sarcastically whilst standing up.

He headed to the door and got out. Emilie followed him, she was now used to do so. He led her, this time, to a warehouse, a bit wider than the precedent one. Vaas stopped and opened the big rusty door. A horrible squeaking noises twisted Emilie’s ears.

They entered. This time, no hideous pig breeding, no stacked food, nor kitchen with a doubtful cleanness. No, she was in front of a real arsenal. Turrets mounted on cars, crates filled with ammunitions, an impressive number of firearms settled in huge shelves, all kinds of explosives packed in wooden crates... Emilie was speechless.

**-Here is my toy box!** He stated spreading his arms. **Not bad, huh?**

‘Toys?’ This expression didn’t really surprise Emilie. It was Vaas, after all. And it even made her chuckle. But no time to laugh, he was already walking towards a pirate who was there. Emilie followed.

Upon approaching, she recognized Juan. He was sitting on a crate, cleaning a weapon. Emilie didn’t know what it was, she knew nothing about weapons? Not surprising, was it?

Vaas stopped in front of Juan. The latter raised his head from his work to greet Vaas with a nod.

**-Amigo, this is Emilie.** Vaas said putting his hand on Emilie’s back to make her take a step forward.

Juan looked at her.

**-Yeah, we know each other already.**

**-Great!** He exclaimed clapping his hands. **She will work here until further notice.** He said. **I trust you to find her a lot of things to do. And you must watch her well, if something happens, _you_ ’re the one to blame. **He finished before turning around and leaving.

Emilie looked at him walking away. When he got out of sight, she turned to Juan and waited a few seconds. He had resumed his work as if he paid no attention to her.

**-So, what am I supposed to do?** She asked.

He stopped, sighed and lifted his head to look at her.

**-You’re going to fill up the guns’ magazines with ammo,** he showed one of the shelves, **9mm caliber** , he showed a crate of ammunitions. **Do not touch anything else without being allowed to.**

She looked at her surroundings. She was completely lost. Gun’s what? 9 what?

**-Er…**

He sighed even more loudly and reluctantly stood up. He headed to a shelf where he took a little box that he then put on a table. He then grabbed some boxes of guns ammos and put them next to it. He moved another crate to position it in front of the table like a chair. He shook his head as if to say ‘there’. He seemed a bit annoyed. He wasn’t really glad to work with her, she knew nothing and she wasn’t the cleverest. But hey, Boss’ orders.

He came back to sit where he was and continued his work. Emilie sat at the table letting out a little:

**-Thanks…**

She was pretty embarrassed. She knew she was bothering him more than anything else, but she tried not to think about it and instead tried to memorize what she was learning doing that. So she sat at the table and got to work. She filled the magazines one by one and put them aside. And after almost one hour of boring-to-death work, she was done. She turned to Juan who was storing some weapons in the shelves.

**-Uh… I’m done.** She said gently.

**-OK. Put everything in the box and put it back in its place.** He said.

She did so. She arranged the box and went to sit back at her place. She looked at her surroundings again. She was still impressed; everything that was here was used to kill people… She was a little frightened, but she was curious above all.

She didn’t see Juan approach her. He stood in front of her, arms crossed over his chest and said:

**-You aren’t used to see those things, are you?**

She turned her head immediately, slightly startled.

**-Uh… no, not really…** She confessed.

**-Get up, I’m gonna show you our equipment.** He said, smiling slightly.

She nodded and stood up. They walked to the back of the warehouse. Juan showed the crates that were stacked against the wall:

**-Over here, we store all the explosives, like fragmentation grenades, C4, dynamite, and heavy weapons ammos such as rockets or grenades.**

They then went to one of the big shelves. The weapons were attached vertically, next to each other.

**-Here, are heavy weapons. Rocket launchers, grenade launchers, flamethrowers, well, basically stuff that can smash everything down.** He chuckled, showed another shelf. **Over there, weapons such as assault rifles, shotguns, sniper rifles and bows.**

**-You fight with bows?** She was surprised.

**-Well, not really, we use them for hunting and when we have to kill discreetly.**

She nodded. Actually, they were pretty well organized, everything was stored in its place, ready to be used. It surprised her a little.

The last shelf. This one contained, unlike the two others, metal boxes. Emilie recognized the one she had arranged a few minutes earlier.

**-In these ones, we store the guns and the revolvers. We also have some belts and holsters. And not forgetting blades: hunting knives, machetes…**

They came back to the vehicles.

**-There are the 4x4 with turrets, very effective…** He said.

**-Wow.** Was the only thing she could say.

**-Yeah, and all this, is what I take care of.** He stated.

**-Alone?** She asked astonished.

**-Yeah, I am the only one Vaas really trusts, so I’m alone here.** He said with a rather proud tone.

‘Really trusts?’ Yet she was here as well…

**-Right, enough talking, we have no time to waste!** He said. **Look, you’re gonna store the weapons that just arrived.** He ordered showing a pile of wooden crates with his finger.

She nodded and did so. They worked for the whole after noon. They discussed sometimes to make the time pass faster. They laughed sometimes. They started to get along, the tension had decreased and Emilie started to like this new job.

After a few hours, the sun began to go down in the sky. Juan told Emilie to stop what she was doing. They were done for today. Emilie was rather tired and glad it was over. She went on her way to leave but Juan called her out:

**-Emilie!** She turned around. **Vaas said he would be waiting for you on the beach.** He said.

**-And, where is it?** She asked, shrugging.

**-You just have to follow the main road to the right, you walk through the little forest and you should arrive there in less than five minutes.**

**-Ok. Thanks.**

She finally went out. To the right... She got on her way. As she walked, she thought about Juan, he was really nice, it changed from the other pirates. She wondered how he could even have come here. Anyway, she would not mind to spend a little time with him again.

Emilie got out of her thoughts when she reached the end of the forest. The walk was not long, indeed. When she came out of the thick vegetation, a bright orange light dazzled her. She put her arm above her eyes to try to see more clearly. Further away from her, a dark silhouette was sitting still. She approached.

Vaas was sitting on the sand, facing the sea, staring at the setting sun, slowly disappearing below the horizon. She hesitated for a moment, then decided to sit next to him.

She looked at the sea as well. The water surface was dotted with orange and pink reflections. The sky was a light purple color. The temperature already bega to decrease, but the sand was still warm.

It was beautiful. They remained silent for a few minutes. Emilie’s breathing was in rhythm with the waves. Everything was peaceful and silent. Emilie could not help pulling closer to Vaas and laying her head on his shoulder. She wasn’t sure that this gesture pleased him, but apparently it didn’t bother him.

He smiled softly.

**-Beautiful, isn’t it?**

She nodded without moving.

**-It's my island. This is my fucking island.** He repeated.

He held up the bottle of alcohol he had in his hand and raised it to his lips. He took one, two sips before lowering it again. But seeing the girl at his side, he handed it to her, saying:

**-Want some?**

She raised her head.

**-What is it?**

**-Rum.**

**-I've never drank alcohol before.** She said apprehensively.

**-Seriously?** He asked surprised.

She shook her head.

**-Well, there is a first time for everything.**

She looked into his eyes. She smiled and took the bottle and raised it to her lips. With the first gulp, she felt the liquid flowing into her mouth. It ignited her tongue. It burned her throat and the sides of her stomach. The feeling was exquisite. She took another gulp, then another, and yet another before Vaas stopped her.

**-Eh eh, take it easy. You're gonna pass out drinking like that.** He said, laughing slightly.

She stopped, gave Vaas the bottle back and wiped her lips with the back of her hand.

**-You like it?** He asked.

She nodded vigorously. He laughed and drank another sip. He didn’t swallow it, though. He approached his mouth of Emilie’s and placed his lips on hers. Then began a _literally_ burning kiss.

Emilie closed her eyes. Their tongue slipped one over the other, mixing their saliva with the hot liquid. Their lips let out a few drops that rolled along their jaw to their chin. It was even better that way.

They parted. Vaas smiled. He wiped with his thumb a drop that was running down Emilie’s chin. She immediately grabbed the pirate’s hand to prevent it from getting away and opened her mouth to lick the remaining alcohol on his finger. All this looking straight into his eyes.

A triumphant smile appeared on his lips.

**-Naughty girl.** He whispered.

She smiled back, dropping his hand. They stared at each other for a few minutes. Emilie then turned her gaze toward the ocean. She stood up and removed her tank top. Vaas was a little surprised. She wasn’t usually that open…

**-What are you doing?** He asked as she removed her shoes quickly.

She didn’t answer. Vaas let her do, watching her, of course. She took her pants and underwear off. She was now naked. Vaas stood up in turn and took her by the waist to pull her against him. She gently pushed him back and began to walk slowly towards the sea. Vaas watched her hips sway to the rhythm of her steps. The dying sunlight sublimated her curves.

She slowly turned and motioned for Vaas to follow. He smiled and began to remove his clothes. She reached the water, it was cool, but not enough to be cold. Emilie let the waves cover her feet. She took a deep breath and walked further.

The water now reached her waist. Vaas joined her immediately. He approached her and took her by the waist again. Skin against skin, the cool salt water surrounded their hot bodies, the light lit their faces.

They never looked away from each other’s eyes. Emilie put a hand behind Vaas’ neck to approach his face and bound their lips in a languorous, hot and delicious kiss.

They parted. Emilie stepped back and broke free from the pirate’s grasp. She plunged her whole body in the water. She disappeared for a few seconds to reappear a little further. She continued to swim a little further. A sense of delicious freedom seized her whole being.

Vaas joined her swimming. Where they were, they were almost not able to touch the bottom. Emilie had fun going underwater, swimming, coming up to the surface again. She looked like a kid.

She dived again. Vaas did the same and grabbed her to kiss her. They were totally enveloped by the ocean. They were no longer breathing, they were no longer hearing. They were lost in their salty kiss.

They finally rose to the surface, taking a great, liberating breath. And again their bodies collided. Emilie wrapped her legs around Vaas’ waist and her arms around his neck. He felt the pressure of her breasts on his chest. She felt his member pressed against her lower abdomen. They kissed again while approaching the shore.

Vaas took Emilie to the shore. They came out of the water in the same position. Emilie clung to Vaas not to fall. But he held her firmly and he would not let go. He bent down and laid her on the sand. He then put a hand to her crotch. He stroked gently while looking into her eyes. He entered a finger inside her, then a second and began moving back and forth slowly. She closed her eyes and bit her lip, moaning. Her hips swayed sensually, following Vaas’ movements.

But he suddenly stopped. He brought his fingers, made brilliant by the humidity of her pussy, to the girl’s mouth. She immediately opened her mouth to suck it. She tasted her own juices. Salty and somewhat sour.

She then let his fingers go to host Vaas’ tongue once again. He used each of his hands to grip the back of her knees and parted her legs further. She submitted with pleasure, smiling.

He tore out a long moan of her when he penetrated her suddenly, sinking to the depths of her being so that their bodies were as one. Then followed several minutes of frantic movements and intense and burning pleasure.

Every time he penetrated her, he touched the most sensitive point of her being, an electric shock then made her entire body contract. Each time he withdrew, the soft friction made her totally relax and release a long sigh of pure bliss.

He felt her tighten around him. He made their hips collide with powerful thrusts. He went faster and faster. He grunted like an animal in pleasure. It was so good.

She felt the sand rub against her back and tangle in her hair. She moaned louder and louder. She was screaming soon. Vaas kissed her again to silence her. A rise of bestiality forced Emilie to sink her teeth in the pirate’s lip. She bit him with all her strength to shed blood. The kiss took the metallic taste of the red liquid. Wonderful taste.

Suddenly, he felt her become even tighter around him. She dug her nails into the pirate’s arms and opened her mouth wide to let out a cry of extreme pleasure.

He sped up again and again and came in turn in a muffled groan. She felt his seed spread inside her. She loved that feeling. He let his body rest on Emilie’s. His head was resting on her breasts and his arms along her body. He was exhausted. They both caught their breath slowly.

The sun had completely disappeared, giving way to the bluish glow of the moon. Everything was cold again. He began to close his eyes to let himself go to sleep. But Emilie snapped him back to reality by patting his head. They had better not remain here.

They got up with difficulty and reluctantly put their clothes on. Then they returned to go to sleep in their bed and enjoy a well-deserved good night of sleep, entwined in each other’s arms.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh, I love writing this story! Thank you for reading and feel free to leave a comment to let me know about what you think, your expectations, your criticisms…  
> See you!  
> Badi-otaku.


	18. Chapter 18

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi there! I'm really sorry for not posting for so long! I hope you'll like this chapter though.

She was lying on the bed. Her body was tangled in the white sheets. Her abstract figure was lit by the first rays of the sun. Her chest raised up slowly with each breath. She was calm and relaxed. Everything was silent.

He was looking at her. Sitting on his old couch, a beer bottle in the hand, he was staring at her not daring to wake her up. Yet he knew he had work to do – _they_ had work to do. But he still wanted to enjoy a few moments of peace and tranquility. How long hadn’t he rested for? Well, _really_ rested. He had almost forgotten what these words meant.

He leaned his head back sighing and closing his eyes. He wasn’t used to sit down doing nothing. Because when he was alone, he couldn’t help but think. To think of his whole life, all his memories, all his feelings, and he hated that. But weirdly, today, she was the one who filled his mind, only her. Her eyes, her smile, her curves, her voice. He saw her beside him. Like an angel prisoner of hell. He was this hell.

He suddenly heard the sheets agitating. He lowered his head and opened his eyes to meet the young woman’s ones. She was still lying in his bed. The sunlight made her blue iris sparkle. She gave him a slight smile before saying softly:

**-Hey…**

**-Hey…** He answered.

Silence still persisted for a few seconds. Vaas brought the beer bottle to his lips to drink some. But as soon as the liquid touched his lips, his face contracted and he pulled away the bottle quickly. He put two fingers on his slightly open lip. Some blood spilt on his skin. He let out a small annoyed sigh:

**-Shit…**

Emilie hadn’t looked away from the pirate. She chuckled softly. This wound, although it was minor, had been caused by her. Just the idea of being able to hurt Vaas made her smile, like a small victory. So he was made of flesh and blood, after all.

**-I don’t see what’s funny.** He growled.

**-Sorry...** She said, holding her smile.

He saw she was not sorry at all, however. But he did not bother with it anymore. He sat straight, put the little green bottle on the coffee table and stood up. Emilie noticed only now he was shirtless. He moved to his wardrobe where he took one of his countless red tank tops. She followed his every movement with her eyes.

When he put the garment on, the muscles of his back moved fluidly and elegantly. Contracting one after the other under his tanned and shiny skin. She gently bit her lower lip. God, he was hot!

**-So, are you done staring at me?** He began without turning. **Get up.** He then ordered.

Emilie snapped out of her thoughts and did so with a sigh. But she had barely moved when she felt a sharp pain in her back. The entire area burned horribly. She tried to make slow movements to limit the pain. She gritted her teeth and finally managed to get out of the bed. She quickly went in the bathroom to see what was hurting her so much.

Once posted in front of the mirror, she turned around and looked at her reflection. Her whole back was red. Loads of tiny scratches spattered her skin. Some were bigger and even redder. Her eyes widened. How had she done that? She breathed and thought. Yesterday... on the beach... Shit. The sand had rubbed her so much it hurt her!

Without her noticing, Vaas had appeared behind her.

**-It's bad.** He said, looking at Emilie’s reflection.

When she heard his voice, she turned around abruptly, surprised. He remained motionless, she sighed. Her reaction made him smile slightly, but he turned around and walked out of the bathroom, not saying anything more.

Emilie stayed in the room. She poured some water on her face to refresh herself, brushed her hair to remove the sand that was tangled in it and put her pants on. Her back was burning with every movements, it reminded her how much she hated sand.

She went back into the bedroom and sat down on the bed with a sigh. As soon as she sat, the door opened, Vaas reappeared along with Agnes. She was bearing a small glass bottle and a cloth. Vaas went in turn to the bathroom and closed the door, leaving Emilie and Agnes alone. The girl then joined Emilie on the bed.

**-Show me your back.** She said softly.

Emilie hadn’t quite understood at the moment, but she did what she was told and turned slightly. Agnes examined her wounded skin, frowning.

**-In deed, it’s bad.** She admitted.

Emilie remained silent. Agnes opened the bottle and poured some of the liquid it contained on the cloth. She then brought the soaked tissue on Emilie’s back. She let out a small whimper trying to pull away. Agnes stopped dead; she didn’t want to hurt her.

**-Sorry...** She said softly.

Emilie swallowed and repositioned correctly. She nodded and assured:

**-It’s okay, go ahead.**

Agnes nodded and resumed her care. Emilie was somehow trying to resist the overwhelming pain. She clenched her teeth and closed her eyes while Agnes was cleaning her little injury.

**-Did he do this to you?** She asked with a slight concern.

**-Who?** Emilie asked mechanically, but she already knew the answer.

**-Vaas.** She replied.

Emilie reacted immediately.

**-No!** She negated categorically, surprising Agnes. **No...** She continued softly, **not... really.**

She did not dare to confess what had really happened; she already felt her cheeks tinged with red. Agnes just nodded, feeling Emilie’s discomfort. However, she couldn’t help laughing quietly, she knew how Emilie had hurt herself, at least she strongly suspected it.

**-Here, I’m done. The pain should attenuate.** She said after a few minutes of silence. **If you still feel pain, come back to me, okay?** She continued while standing.

Emilie nodded and made a few arm movements. Indeed, the pain was almost gone, and for the better.

**-Thanks.** She said.

Agnes smiled, gathered her things and left. Emilie finished dressing up and waited sitting on the bed, left alone with her thoughts, it seemed to her that she had to remember of something. But she didn’t know what. She knew it was important, but no way to remember, she rummage through her memory to find, but nothing came. She cursed herself, she often forget things, very often. She sighed and continued thinking.

Meanwhile, Vaas came out of the bathroom. As he passed the girl, he threw an object, she caught it just in time. She was taken aback a little. He immediately stated:

**-Don’t forget that…**

She glanced at the object. Her pill box. Ah yes, that's it! That's what she should definitely not forget! And, of course, she had forgotten...

**-Thank you...**

She went into the next room. She took out a pill and swallowed it with water. She then rested the box prominently, hoping to remember next time... Without wasting more time, she walked in the bedroom once again. Vaas was arranging his weapons at his belt.

**-So what do we do now?** She asked innocently.

**-We go to work...** He replied with a sigh.

Seriously, what was she expecting? ‘No no, today we will go skydiving and mountain climbing’?

**-Yes.** She nodded and looked away. **Of course...** She felt stupid.

**-Don’t make this face, it's not that bad.** He laughed. **And then, we can meet up on the beach at the end of the day... you know, to...** he said with a huge implication.

Emilie pretended not to notice his remark and began to walk out. She was restrained by Vaas who grabbed her arm before pulling her towards him to kiss her. She accepted his kiss without protest. He put his hand behind her neck to not let her get away.

It only lasted a few seconds. They soon parted; Vaas walked to the door and went out. Emilie took a few senconds before following him. She felt her cheeks blushing slightly, she wasn’t really expecting such a move from him. But it was far from displeasing her.

Once outside, Vaas went on his way, assuming that Emilie was still following him. Which she did, she was walking, once again, a few steps behind him. She breathed softly, damned heat! She already felt her skin wetting with sweat. The air was stifling, as much as the presence of pirates everywhere around her. Always these pirates...

By the way, one of them approached running. He stopped Vaas. Emilie also stopped but remained behind. She stared at him. He was quite different from the others. He was rather small and thin, and he looked very young. Emilie wouldn’t have thought him more than eighteen years old. Anyway, he wasn’t really built to be one of those sadistic and violent pirates. Why a weakling like him would want to stay here, with the risk of being eaten, literally, one minute to another? Well, he might be stuck here, like her...

**-Sir! Hoyt wants to talk to you, he is online in the communications room.** He said.

Fear could be heard in his voice. It was trembling slightly. And the way he was talking to Vaas... He was clearly terrified by the pirate.

**-Okay, I’m on my way.** Vaas said.

The pirate nodded and left. Vaas turned to Emilie and looked at her in the eyes.

**-Go and join Juan at the warehouse, he will give you some work.** He ordered. **And don’t linger on the way.**

Emilie nodded before getting on her way.

**-hey, hold on a second, I have something for you.**

She stopped and turned around. He then reached into his pants pocket. He pulled out a small object that Emilie couldn’t see. He threw it to her her clumsily but she still managed to catch it. She opened her hands to see what it was. A silver pendant, heart-shaped, threaded on a thin chain of the same color. It was rather nice and looked quite fragile.

**-You like it, it’s a gift.**

**-Where have you got it?** She asked with some suspicion.

He let out a little laugh and turned again to start walking towards the ‘communications room’. Emilie didn’t like so much his reaction, as if he was making fun of her, a little despicable chuckle. But it didn’t matter; she slipped the necklace into her pocket and started walking in the opposite direction.

It only took her a few minutes to get there. When she entered the large building, Juan appeared from behind a shelf. He then approached her, greeting her. Emilie greeted him in turn smiling at him. Without delay, they got to work. They settled at the table to go through all the knives and machetes to maintain and store them, a repetitive and long work.

They worked in silence, only the sound of blades banging into each other was heard. After a while, Emilie decided to break the boring silence:

**-Juan?**

**-Mmh?** He said without looking up from his work.

**-Do you think I'm young?**

**-What do you mean?** She piqued his curiosity; he raised his head to look at her in the eyes.

**-Do you think I am a child?**

He thought for a few seconds.

**-No, not really, but how old are you?**

**-Eighteen.**

He looked away and took a few seconds again before answering.

**-Well, you're young, but you're far from being a child. Why do you ask?**

She sighed slightly before explaining:

**-The other day, when I told Aaron my age, he reacted strangely.**

**-Ah. I see, but don’t worry. Actually... it's because of his daughter...** He confessed.

**-His Daughter? But he said he had no family...** She wondered.

**-Did he tell you that?** He was just as surprised.

**-Well, he said he no longer had one...** She corrected.

With only a small nod, Juan returned to his work. But Emilie was, as always, curious. She could not help but ask:

**-What happened? I mean...**

He breathed out softly. He knew the cook’s story, but he wouldn’t answer her question. It was none of her business, after all.

**-Keep on working.** He said, trying to change the subject.

She did not move. She was waiting for an answer. He sighed louder.

**-Why is that so important for you? It's none of your business.** He said sharply.

**-Well, I don’t know...  I feel affected.** She says what passed through her head.

**-‘Affected’?** He looked at her doubtfully.

She sighed.

**-Okay, it's not exactly that. But if his reaction to me has to do with his daughter, it may be because there is a link between her and me, no?** She asked, motionless, like suspended to his answer.

He was still staring at her with the same look. He suddenly laughed softly.

**-What?!** She cried, somewhat exasperated.

He tried to stop, saying:

**-Sorry, but it's your way of thinking...**

**-So what?** She replied, crossing her arms.

**-Doesn’t matter.** He stopped laughing. **But you're right, there is a ‘link’ between her and you.**

**-So tell me.**

He waited a few seconds.

**-She would have been the same age as you this year.** He took a rather sad tone pronouncing this sentence. **If she didn’t pass away five years ago.**

**-Oh...** She let out, lowering her head. **And how did it happen?**

**-Well... If you want to know everything, she was killed. She and her mother.**

**-‘Killed’?**

**-Aaron Lived in Jamaica before. He had a wife and a daughter, they had many money trouble, so to make ends meet at the end of the month, Aaron began to involve himself in not so legal business. Then, it went wrong, and one day he came home, he found them dead. He fled his country and ended up here...**

**-Wow... It's... sad...** She did not find another word, she felt bad for the cook.

**-We all have a rather dark story here, that's why we're here...** He said getting up to go and store the object he had in his hands.

Emilie remained silent a few seconds before asking:

**-And you, what's your dark story?**

He stopped dead. His eyes stared at an imaginary point while his memory was resurfacing, taking his thoughts as a tsunami. No, he did not want to think about it, all that was behind him...

He snapped out of his trance before turning back to Emilie. She saw his upset face and watery eyes. He was trying to regain his senses and change the subject.

**-You... Uh...** Sigh. **Uh... go and store that and find something else to do...**

He was distraught, he could no longer think, he did not know what he was doing.

**-I'm sorry, I should not have asked that question.**

She got up to do what she was told. He took a deep breath and calmed down.

**-Yes. Excuse me, I...**

He did not finish his sentence. They were silent during the hours that followed. The atmosphere was quite tense. But finally, noon came. Emilie could finally breathe and go have lunch. She left the warehouse saying goodbye to Juan.

On the way back, she had like a flash, which reminded her of something. She stopped in the middle of the road and buried her hand in her pants pocket to pull out the pendant Vaas had ‘offered’ her. She looked at in detail. She noticed as a small clasp on the side of the heart, as if it opened in two pieces. With a slight pressure, she opened it. Inside, two small compartments in which were small photographs. On the left, the smiling face of a youngish man. On the right, the equally radiant smile of a young woman. Emilie immediately thought of a couple. The cliché of the photos I the pendent... She laughed slightly.

Although it was pretty, she could not help thinking that it was not hers. No, this object belonged to someone else. And that person was certainly looking for it right now. She looked more closely at the photo of the young woman. She would have sworn she saw her somewhere, here. She thought for a few seconds before concluding. She was one of the hostages.

Emilie closed the pendant and squeezed it in her hand while taking the road again. She had changed her destination. She walked toward the hostage area.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading and feel free to give a kudo or write a comment!  
> Bye! Badi-otaku.


	19. Chapter 19

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Two chapters in one day 'cause why not!

Emilie didn’t take long before arriving in the area where the hostages were locked. She immediately looked at the pictures in the pendant, walking in the aisles that were separating the cages. She was watching them, trying to spot the young woman who was on the picture. However, she looked at the prisoners no longer than a few seconds before lowering her head. It was very hard, they all looked almost dead, they all stared back at her as if everything that was happening to them was her fault.

Emilie hurried, she mustn’t be spotted by pirates either. After reviewing half a dozen cages, she finally found the person she was looking for. She stopped dead, looked at her for a few seconds, her eyes wandered from the picture to the young woman to be sure it was her.

It was very difficult to recognize her. Her face was horribly scrawny, dark circles underneath her eyes, her look was blank and her body was motionless. Her clothes were torn and dirty. Emilie swallowed and stepped forward, clutching the pendant in her hands.

The young woman then turned her head abruptly. Fear distorted her features, her members began to tremble, her breathing quickened and she tried to get away. Emilie was surprised by this reaction, she walked closer, trying to calm the terrified prisoner.

**-Shhh, calm down...** She said softly.

**-Please, don’t hurt me.** She began to sob.

**-What?** Emilie didn’t really understand, why would she hurt her? **No... no, I won’t do anything to you...** She said, slightly raising her hands.

**-Please...** The other continued.

Emilie took another step forward. The hostage put her arm over her face as if to protect herself from a blow. Emilie crouched quietly and waited. Seconds passed, Emilie was motionless, the young woman was terrified.

Emilie saw herself in her place, praying not to have to face a pirate. So that was it, the woman thought she was a pirate. This red garment feared by all hostages, _she_ was wearing it. She saw herself in that cage, imploring pity for her not to be harmed. But this time, _she_ was the one who was outside, and _she_ was the one who was feared.

**-Aren’t you one of them...?**

Emilie shook her head from right to left in negation sign. The young woman relaxed somewhat.

**-What do you want...?** She asked, still suspicious, though.

Emilie didn’t reply, she just opened her hand to let the pendant dangle. The young woman recognized it immediately, her eyes widened. She approached Emilie as fast as she could and grabbed the bamboo bars as if her life depended on it.

**-Where did you find it?** She asked as tears began to bead on the corner of her eyes.

Emilie didn’t answer, once again.

**-Give it back to me, Please!** She said distraught.

Emilie didn’t wait another minute and handed her the object. The young woman looked at her for a moment, it was there, she couldn’t believe it, she didn’t dare to take it. She raised her head and looked into Emilie’s eyes, the latter nodded to encourage her to take the jewelry. She gave it back like that, without anything else, no conditions, no false hope, no mean game...?

She hurried to take it and put it around her neck. She squeezed the necklace in her hand, sighing with relief.

**-Thanks...** She whispered.

Emilie nodded, smiling slightly. The young woman then lowered her head to look at her jewelry, she opened it and looked at the photographs, a sad smile appeared on her lips while a tear rolled down her cheek.

**-Who is he?** Emilie asked softly, referring to the young man.

**-My fiancé...**

She raised her head to look into Emilie’s eyes. The latter swallowed, she felt her tears come to her eyes, she couldn’t stop them.

**-Where is he...?** She dared to ask.

**-He took him yesterday...** She replied with a voice trembling with fear and anxiety.

‘He’... Emilie knew who she was referring to: Vaas. She didn’t have to think so long to know what this man had become, he was probably dead... or almost dead. Emilie was seized by guilt, she felt responsible for everything that happened to this poor woman and to her lover... Like a huge mass on her shoulders, like lead in her stomach.

**-Help me... please...** The hostage whispered, grabbing the bamboo bars.

She lowered her head and sighed deeply, then inhaled again. She would have wanted, she would have wanted so much to help her, tell her that everything would be okay, tell her that her husband was safe and that they would both go back home and leave it all behind. But what could she do? She was nothing here, she was like them. She just had privileges. Privileges...

Emilie shook her head from side to side very slowly, a desolate look on her face. The hostage’s face faded, she let go of the bars and went back to her place, staring at a nonexistent point with a blank stare. Emilie dried the tears beading at the corner of her eyes and stood up to leave, leaving the girl to her fate.

**-Don’t become like them...** The prisoner whispered.

With this sentence, Emilie stopped dead. A flooding of thoughts overwhelmed her mind. Shaking her head slightly, she resumed her way. She was wandering through the earth aisles once again. The hostages were all staring at her, the way they watched the pirates. That same look, full of hate and anger.

The more she walked, the more she was slowing down. Without really meaning to, she stopped. Her eyes rested on three hostages locked in a cage. One of them looked down, scared. But the two others continued to accuse her with their look. So, she is one as well now... a pirate. Feared and hated. Her stomach knotted further.

**-PLEASE, I want my child! Give me back my baby! I'M BEGGING YOU!**

Emilie snapped out of her thoughts and turned her head abruptly. Where did these cries come from? It wasn’t long before she knew the answer. This was the woman who was screaming in agony while hitting the bars of her cage. This was the woman she knew, she had seen her the day before. What was her name again? Ashley.

She was striking with all her might, screaming at the top of her lungs, but soon, a pirate approached her and hit the cage with the butt of his gun to make her calm down. Obviously, this had no effect, she continued. With each cry that reached her ears, Emilie’s body contracted, her teeth clenched, her tears came.

Exasperated, the pirate opened the cage to get her out. He pulled her out and threw her down to beat her up.

**-Shut the fuck up! You WHORE!**

Emilie stared at the scene, in shock. She could not let that happen. She could not let this poor defenseless woman being abused like that. No, she had to do something, but her body refused to move. She was petrified.

**-Hey, Querida! What the fuck are you doing here?** A voice shouted from behind her.

She then turned quickly to face Vaas. He approached her, walking quickly. Once close enough, he continued:

**-Huh? Why are you here?**

His voice was calm. Emilie’s thoughts were muddled, she tried to make a correct sentence.

**-What? Uh... oh... I… just-**

Vaas did not fail to notice her panic.

**-What is bothering you, Querida?** He asked with a worried tone putting a lock of hair behind her ear. **Tell me.**

**-No-nothing... uh... I-**

**-Yes, there is something.** He insisted.

He stroked her cheek gently, looking into her eyes as if to reassure her but this abnormal concern and gestures made her even more afraid.

**-Is** **_she_ bothering you?** He said, pointing to the hostage who was still screaming under the hit of her tormentor.

Emilie briefly turned her head in his direction before turning her look back to Vaas.

**-No. No!** She said, shaking her head.

**-Hey, you there!** Vaas called the pirate who stopped short hitting the hostage. **Bring the girl here!**

The pirate did so quickly, pulling the hostage by the hair to move her forward. Emilie backed off behind Vaas when they reached them. The pirate threw the woman to the ground. She landed heavily on her knees. Her head was down, her face was covered by her hair, she sobbed firmly holding her arms with her hands.

Vaas sighed, crouching in front of the young woman. He gently brushed some strands of her hair to see her face already red from the blows and tears.

**-I’m sorry chica...** He whispered before getting on his feet gain.

He then turned to Emilie who was still looking at the young woman with a frozen expression. He picked up a pistol from his belt, deactivated the security and pulled Emilie by the arm to position her exactly in front of the hostage who was curled up. Emilie was somewhat back to reality when he put the gun in her hand. However, she didn’t immediately realize her situation. Vaas made her raise her arm to point the barrel of the gun to the prisoner. Emilie let him do like a puppet. Finger snapping drew her attention.

**-Hey, you listening to me?**

She slowly turned her head towards Vaas who was on her right. She didn’t actually seem to have listened.

**-Go ahead, do it.** He ordered.

**-Do what?** She asked innocently.

He gestured with his head toward the hostage. Emilie looked down at the young woman who began to sob louder and shake like a leaf. Emilie's eyes widened. Surprise, she dropped the gun and stepped back. Vaas caught her by the wrist not to let her go farther.

**-Fuck, careful! It’s fucking loaded!** He shouted, picking up the gun.

Emilie tried to free herself from the grip of the pirate, to no avail. Tears flooded her eyes, her face contorted. He held her even more firmly pulling her to him. She clutched at his shirt to press herself against him. He put a hand on her hair.

**-Shhh, it’s okay... it’s okay...** He said to reassure her.

She finally calmed down. Vaas was still holding her by the wrist, but he loosened his grip slightly. He parted from her and made a slight sign to the pirate who was still present behind the hostage.

**-The stage.** He said simply.

He began to walk towards the main road. Emilie followed close behind but he still had to force her to move from time to time. They eventually arrived at the place Emilie knew already. In front of her, in the middle of the open area, was the stage on which the pirates killed the ‘rejects’. The wood was soaked in red blood.

He got on the stage, bringing Emilie with him, followed by the pirate who was dragging the hostage. He got her on her knees. She still was crying. Vaas finally let go of Emilie. She then rubbed her wrist with her other hand to get rid of the slight pain inflicted by the pirate.

Vaas turned to the pirates who were everywhere around. He took a deep breath and yelled:

**-Amigos!**

Every pirate turned to their leader, they stopped their activity and began to approach.

**-I think there is a little lack of distraction around here!**

The pirates agreed grumbling incomprehensible words. Some started to smile, knowing where this was going.

**-That’s why I decided to do the honors, to _mi Querida_ here,** he held out his arm towards Emilie, **of killing this useless whore!** He finished indicating the hostage.

The pirates started to laugh meanly. Oh yeah, a kid like her could surely kill someone! No, she wouldn’t do it, and the hostage would be left alive and thrown to their mercy as always. They were already imagining what things they could do to the hostage, horrible things…

Vaas grabbed Emilie by the wrist again to drag her close to him. She had perfectly understood what he was expecting from her, she tried to resist but he was far stronger than her, she gave in and positioned herself in front of the hostage. Vaas put the gun in Emilie’s shaking hand again.

She grasped the weapon with two hands. She put her finger on the trigger and aimed to the young woman. She resigned herself to obey Vaas, she couldn’t do otherwise… She tried to play for time though. Vaas was encouraging her supporting her arms with one hand and putting the other on her shoulder. His face was close, she smelled his scent and felt his breath she knew so well.

She was staring at the hostage. And if she didn’t do it, what would happen? Vaas would do it himself, for sure, or he would let his men take care of it. But herself, what would happen to her? Vaas wouldn’t kill her, he can’t do it, he had said it himself, no?

Emilie was once again victim of a terrible dilemma. She didn’t know what to do. Her eyes were still on the young woman, begging at her feet. Her hands were sweaty, she repositioned them around the weapon that was starting to slip slightly.

The air had become heavy. With each breath, it was as if her lungs were filling with water. She was suffocating, choked by the weight of the hesitation and drowned by her guilt. And that infamous monster that kept whispering:

**-Why are you hesitating? Don’t you remember when you killed your sister? Don’t you remember how simple it was? Just a little pressure... and everything is over... Gone...**

He made a fluid hand gesture to mimic his words. She briefly glanced at him, then her eyes went on the young woman. She had lost any hope of escaping, she now prayed for her death to be fast. Emilie would do her a favor by pulling the trigger. Everything would stop...

**-Thank you-**

BANG


	20. Chapter 20

_Total darkness. Always the same one. I'm standing in the middle of nothingness. I see nothing, I hear nothing, I feel nothing. As usual, I do not know where I am, I do not know why, I do not know how. Is it reality? Is it a dream? I can’t even tell them apart._

_I start walking. I don’t see my footsteps. I don’t see where I’m going. And the more I walk, the more anxiety seizes my body. I walk faster and faster to run. I try to flee. I run as fast as possible. This darkness scares me. I lose my breath. I stop._

_I feel like being back in the same place. It's as if I didn’t move at all. These shadows are endless and nothing can make me out._

_I suddenly feel a breath on my neck. I turn abruptly. Nothing. Something grabs my arm and let go immediately. I turn around again. Still nothing. I feel a sharp pain in my leg, like someone hit me. I waver. I feel another strike in my stomach. I curl up. The pain in my heart crushes me. I fall to my knees. I’m hurt. I cry._

**_-Why are you crying, Querida?_ **

_I hear a voice. I hear_ that _voice. I look up. In a mist of white light, he appears. I feel better, I breathe and my tears stop flowing._

**_-Vaas..._ ** _I whisper._

_He smiles softly._

**_-I think I have something that belongs to you._ ** _He said._

_I look at him questioningly. His smile is beginning to change. It becomes kind of evil as he slowly extends his hand to me. I look at the object he is holding. I feel knots in my stomach, my breathing stops, my heart- no, I can’t feel my heart. My heart, is in his hand._

_I panic, I bring my hand to my chest. A gaping hole. My heart is no longer in its place. I look at him again. He laughs._

**_-Give it back to me!_ ** _I shout._

**_-Oh no, it's mine now._ ** _He continues laughing mischievously._

_I try to get up. Impossible. I'm like chained to the ground, if there is one. I see my organ beating in his hand. I almost vomit. He begins to close his hand. He presses his fingers. It hurts. Between my almost closed eyelids, I can see the blood escaping the arteries and falling to the ground._

_He crushes my heart in his hands. There is soon a puddle of viscous blood on the floor. I can’t feel anything. My lungs no longer breathe, my brain no longer thinks. I gather my strength to crawl to the pool of blood._

_I’m totally panicked. I try to collect the red liquid as if my heart could remake. I do not get anywhere. My hands are stained with blood. I still hear his chuckle. I stop. My tears don’t flow. My skin is white and lifeless. I'm dead._

_But suddenly, the blood on my hands begins to move. It gathers in small streams that ascend along my arms. I'm following them with my eyes. When they reach my white tank top, the fabric soaks in the liquid. I stare at the rivers of blood that go up my arms, shocked. Within moments, the puddle on the floor is gone. My tank becomes completely red._

_My lungs take a deep breath. I think and move again. I live again, but I feel... different. I raise my eyes to the pirate who hadn’t looked away from me. He crosses his arms and smiles. He is satisfied. He turns and walks away. I can’t hold him back, I stay there, still in shock._

_Everything turns black again. I hear a whispering voice. I can’t hear what it says, but it scares me. The anguish, again. I curled up on myself. My breathing is frantic, I start to cry again. I want to get out of here. I WANT TO GET OUT OF HERE!_

Emilie suddenly opened her eyes, taking a deep breath, as if she had been deprived of oxygen for a long time. Then she straightened up and turned her head in all directions. She finally calmed down. She was lying on a bed in the infirmary. The room was dimly lit, a curtain prevented the only window from letting the light in.

She lay down quietly, thinking of her dream. Another one of those dammed dreams! She hated dreaming, especially if it was to imagine things like that. By the way, why was she there? She couldn’t even remember what had happened before she fell asleep. She just remembered... she had killed the hostage. She didn’t want to think about it, she let this memory in a corner of her mind.

Emilie sat up again to sit on the edge of the bed. She rubbed her face as if to wipe away the fatigue and exhaled slowly before getting up. She then began to walk up to the window. There, she pulled the curtain to let in the daylight. The sun was already setting, but the light and the heat were still intense. Emilie looked outside. She turned her head slightly when her eyes fell on two people, talking to each other. She recognized Agnes and Juan. She could hear their conversation from here.

**-I don’t like that, that's all...** Agnes said, crossing her arms.

**-But we can’t do anything, you know it.**

**-You can talk to him, I'm sure he will listen to you.**

Who were they talking about? Emilie continued to listen without really understanding.

**-He may listen to me, but he will not change anything... He is the most stubborn guy ever!** Juan stated.

**-That's the problem...** Agnes sighed, turning her head slightly.

**-Well, I have to go.** Juan took a step toward Agnes before adding. **See you tonight, Sweetheart.**

He leaned slightly forward to drop a kiss on her forehead. She closed her eyes and smiled softly.

Emilie couldn’t believe her eyes. He just kissed her! Well, there was nothing very shocking, but Emilie was more than surprised, she’d never thought that... Anyway, it was none of her business. Emilie moved away from the window to go back to sit on the bed.

**-See you...** She heard Agnes mumbling watching her man getting away.

Seconds later, Agnes entered the room. She immediately noticed Emilie.

**-You're awake, are you okay?** She asked, closing the door.

Emilie nodded slowly. But her eyes said otherwise. Agnes went to sit beside her. When she took Emilie’s hand in hers, the latter squeezed it with all her might. Agnes knew what Emilie was feeling. She knew she needed support, and she would be there to provide it to her.

**-He forced me to do it.** Emilie said as if to justify her act.

Agnes didn’t take long before understanding what she was talking about.

**-I know.** She replied.

**-She was looking at me.** She continued, weeping. **She was looking at me with her eyes, they were begging me. They begged me to kill her...**

**-You did what you had to do.** She said, looking into her eyes. **But don’t let him gain the upper hand. You must resist him whatever happens, otherwise...**

She didn’t finish her sentence. But Emilie knew what she meant. She realized it herself. Gradually, it was as if he took a part of her being. She felt like he was lure her towards something dark, something bad... He took what was good in her.

**-By the way, do your back feel better?**

Agnes got Emilie out of her thoughts. She turned her head to her friend before nodding.

**-Yeah, thank you.**

Agnes dropped Emilie’s hand to get up. The latter did the same and began walking towards the door. She stopped before opening it, turned to Agnes and smiled before adding:

**-You two are so cute, you and Juan.**

Agnes looked at her friend then blushed and lowered her head. Emilie let out a chuckle and went out, closing the door behind her.

She began to walk back to Vaas’ shack. She took a few shortcuts between small buildings. But while she stepped into one of the small alleys, she came face to face with two pirates. She stopped dead.

**-Look who's here, it's little _Emilie_.** One said to the other, emphasizing her name.

They knew her name? Emilie was surprised and a little disturbed, but she pulled herself together and turned around. But again, a third pirate barred her way.

**-Let me through, please.** She said.

**-‘Please’? Seems like Vaas trained you well.** He sneered.

Emilie didn’t like the way he talked, she started to speak up.

**-Let. Me. Through.** She said through gritted teeth.

She suddenly felt her arm being caught by a mighty hand. She turned immediately, a pirate firmly held her and added:

**-Why are you in such a hurry? Stay with us a little while, we will have a drink, play poker...**

She abruptly released herself from his grip.

**-No. Thank you.** She replied with a fake politeness.

Another pirate then opened his mouth to reply:

**-She may prefer doing something more...** He took her by the waist to bring her closer to him and mumble, **intimate...**

Emilie was utterly disgusted. She wasn’t in the mood to play that game. She escaped the pirate’s arms and forced her way out of the alley. She walked as fast as she could. She could still hear the chuckles of the pirates who were looking at her getting away. She wanted to turn around and go spit in their faces. But she’d better not provoke them further.

At last, she arrived at the shack. She opened the door and hurried to get inside. Vaas was sitting on his couch, he was smoking a cigar. When he saw her coming, he stood up and walked towards her.

**-Where have you been?** He asked harshly.

**-Leave me alone please.** She sighed removing her boots to go to sleep in the bed.

**-No, I’m not leaving you alone. You could have been killed that I wouldn’t even know!** He was starting to get really pushy.

**-It's okay, I'm here now, everything is fine.** She replied, annoyed.

She buried under the covers as if to isolate herself from the pirate. But he hadn’t said his last word; he took the sheets and suddenly pulled them off Emilie. She had her back turned to him and was curled up on herself. Vaas grabbed her arm to turn her around. She fought back, but she was now facing him. He stopped when he saw the tears flowing from her eyes.

**-Leave me alone, please.** She whispered.

**-What’s the problem?!** He shouted with outstretched arms. **What's your problem, HUH!?**

**-You want to know!?** She replied, straightening.

**-Yeah! I want to know!** He answered.

**-It’s YOU! My problem is YOU.** She cried.

**-Ah yeah? And what did _I_ do?**

She let out a nervous chuckle, turning her head. What had he done? Hijack her, lock her in a cage, torture her, kill her family in front of her, force her to kill innocent people for example!

Emilie stopped moving. Her emotions once again took over. Everything she had lived, all this pain... All because of him! HIM AND ONLY HIM! Her tears doubled in intensity, she brought her legs against her chest and buried her head in her arms resting them on her knees.

Vaas sighed in exasperation. She was always crying, and it was starting to piss him off. He put his hand on her shoulder, but she made a gesture to stop him.

**-DON’T TOUCH ME!** She shouted.

She then rose abruptly to deal him a punch in the jaw. He wavered, but soon regained his balance before facing Emilie.

**-Oh you want to play this game, eh?** He shouted. **Go on, hit me!** He ordered with outstretched arms to encourage her.

She wasn’t think anymore. She was so angry. Her tears were now tears of rage. She quickly walked to the pirate and hit him in the face once again. Again and again. She hit him as much as she could. She struck, she slapped, she scratched. In the face, in the chest, in the abdomen, in the legs. She was more and more out of breath, Vaas wasn’t moving, he took the hits without saying anything. He even smiled. It made her even more furious, he laughed while he was being hit. He mocked her again, right?!

Emilie broke down. She stopped short and fell on her knees. Desperate tears began to flow again. Vaas remained motionless for a few seconds in front of her before turning around and leaving. Emilie was now alone.

When she stopped crying, she got up and walked to the bed with her trembling legs. There, she curled up under the covers and did the only thing she could do when she was in this state, she slept.


	21. Chapter 21

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi guys! Sorry for not posting lately, I hope you'll like this chapter though!

Emilie woke up at night. She pushed the sheets aside sitting up. She let out a long yawn, rubbing her eyes. She was in great shape, well rested. But still, she would feel better if she was not so hungry. Her stomach gurgled horribly and this feeling of empty stomach almost prevented her from thinking about something else.

The room was plunged into darkness. A slight light allowed her to discern some forms though. She stood up to walk to the door. She fumbled around to find a switch on the wall and turned it on to illuminate the room. She sighed. She was alone, she had nothing to do. She decided for one reason or another to take a shower.

So she went into the bathroom, gathered a few things and undressed. She opened the tap. The water came out of the shower head, cold at first, then it warmed up. Emilie then entered the tub and began to rub her skin with the soap she had in her hands. How long since her last shower? A week... maybe. Anyway, it did not seem to be the main concern around here...

When she was done lathering up, she let the deliciously warm water roll over her skin to get rid of the remaining soap. She passed her hands all over her body to make it go faster. Then she stopped. Her hand was near her crotch, she thought back to that moment, a few days ago. When Vaas had... touched her...?

She remembered perfectly the feeling that he had given her. It was so nice and pleasing. Along with her thought, her hand got close to her inner thighs. She stopped suddenly. She shook her head vigorously. What was wrong with her? No, she was not going to do that! At the same time, she wanted it terribly. And it is okay to do it, right? Vaas said it himself... She was alone anyway, no one would know...

Her hand slid up her sex without hesitation. She closed her eyes and tried to remember how Vaas had done it. She first stroked softly. Then she ran a finger on her clit. She shivered, her legs trembled. She leaned against the cold tiles wall, threw back her head before continuing her caresses. Slowly, slowly, she did not know how she was doing this, but she was. It was nice. Her open mouth let out moan of pleasure.

**-Querida!**

**_-Merde!_ **

Emilie was pulled from her reverie by Vaas’ voice. She almost slipped in the tub, but regained her balance quickly. Her breathing was fast, her legs barely supported her and her thoughts were confused. She cut the water and got out of the tub before quickly covering herself with a towel. She was trying to regain her senses when Vaas burst into the room.

**-Querida! Come and see, I brought you something.** He said with a big smile indicating the adjacent room.

Emilie was motionless, staring at Vaas with a bewildered look. His smile faded.

**-Something’s wrong, Querida?** He asked.

**-What?** She shook her head slightly to get out of this sort of trance. **Uh... no- yes... uh, it’s okay...** She let out a small silly laugh.

She was still a little surprised. Vaas raised an eyebrow doubtfully. But he did not linger and left the room. Emilie sighed. That was close. She could not imagine what would have happened if he had taken her in the process of...

Well, no harm done. She went out of the bathroom. However, she remained in the door way. Holding the towel around her chest, she looked at Vaas who was fidgeting throughout the room. Her look was questioning.

The pirate was moving rapidly from one end of the room to the other. He seemed to look for something. His movements were fast and frantic.

**-Not here. Nor here.** He continued his infernal race.

He opened his closet and tilted his head to look inside. He then began to take the clothes that were in the closet one by one to throw them behind him.

**-Not this one. Not this one. This one either...**

Emilie was very intrigued. Something was wrong, it was obvious. She looked around the room without moving from her position. She noticed something on the coffee table. She looked more closely. A light white powder residue covered the wood. She didn’t take long before understanding what it was. Actually, it did not really surprise her. But she had never seen Vaas under the influence of cocaine.

**-Ahí!**

Vaas drew Emilie’s attention again, she turned her head to look at him. A pile of clothes had formed behind him. He was holding a pair of jeans in his hands. He turned to the mirror that was next to the cabinet and positioned it in front of his legs as to try it on and smiled.

**-Perfecto...** He whispered.

Emilie took a step forward. She picked Vaas’ attention and he suddenly turned his head toward her.

**-Ah, Querida!** He exclaimed throwing the pants on the couch before continuing. **On the bed.** He said simply, pointing a finger at the bed.

Emilie slightly cocked her head to the side. She did not understand what he meant. She turned her head to look at the bed. A red dress was spread out on the undone sheets. She approached and stopped to look at it.

It seemed rather short, the color was bright. It was a strapless dress that marked the waist with a belt made of ribbon of the same color. The skirt was composed of several voluminous ruffles and lace trim. Emilie was all a bit provoking but she had to admit she liked it.

**-Put it on.** Vaas whispered in her ear. She was caught off guard and quickly turned to the pirate.

He smiled widely. Honestly, Emilie thought he looked somewhat stupid, but she would never say it out loud. It was really strange to see him so... happy. She was not going to complain, of course, but she was starting to get tired of his attitude.

**-And... On what occasion?** She asked.

Why did he offer her a dress like this? And why should she put it on?

**-For the party.** His response sounded obvious on his lips.

**-The party…** She nodded, still skeptical.

Vaas had already walked away to get his jeans. He took off the pants he was wearing and put on the new ones. Emilie looked at him. She had never seen him wearing anything but his old cargo pants. She was a little surprised, but it suited him quite well.

**-So, you put it on or do you expect me to do it for you?** He said mockingly.

**-Uh, do I have to come...?** She asked.

He started laughing. But he stopped immediately seeing Emilie’s neutral face.

**-Are you serious? You do not want to party with us?** He had a mockingly disappointed tone. **Why?**

**-Uh... I- I'm not really in the mood...** she confessed.

Indeed, the events of the day had put her morale really low. She did not feel like being in the midst of a horde of alcohol-soaked pirates. And what happened with Vaas earlier... He did not seem to blame her, but Emilie was uncomfortable.

**-Well, as you wish.** He resigned himself while removing his red tank top.

Emilie nodded slightly. It did not seem to cause any problems, good. When he was done getting dressed, Vaas went into the bathroom. Meanwhile, Emilie pulled the t-shirt and the little gym shorts she used as pajamas. Vaas then came out of the bathroom and immediately headed to the door to go out. But Emilie restrained him.

**-Uh... can I...** She did not dare to ask, **have something to eat... please?**

She had not eaten for the whole day, her stomach begged her to swallow something. Vaas just nodded and then went out.

Once alone, Emilie carefully put away the dress in the small part of the cabinet she occupied. She also took the opportunity to fold and store Vaas’ clothes. Did he really need to mess everything up to find jeans? Once done, she sat down at the table. What could she do? She was bored to death here. She turned her head in all directions to find something to do.

Her eyes then fell on the large wardrobe. She got up and walked. She reached over to pick up something that was behind. She put her hand between the wall and the furniture before removing a drawing folder. She placed it on the table and sat down.

She opened it. Inside was all she had done during more than a week. Why was she hiding it? She did not really know... Vaas probably didn’t give a damn about what she was doing during her spare time but it was a security measure.

She took a paper. Something was already drawn on it, but she was not finished yet. That would be perfect. She pulled the sheet from the folder, took her pencil and eraser and began to draw. She could already hear the music that was played at the party. It gave her a little atmosphere and helped her to draw.

In the midst of her work, someone came to bring her something to eat. She did not know the man and did not try to know him, she simply thanked him before he left the room. She quickly ate and went back to work.

After a while, she stopped. She was done. She put down her pencil, took the paper in her hand and raised it to look at it. A smile appeared on her lips. She was happy with it. She had drawn a landscape. Dense jungle bordered by a sandy beach, as ones that could be found all over the island.

When she was done admiring her work, she carefully put away the paper and shut the folder to move it back into place. She then sat on the couch. Her eyelids were starting to grow heavy. What time was it? She did not know, probably after midnight. The party still was in full swing outside, she did not dare to imagine the debauchery that it had to be.

She was pulled out of her thoughts when the door abruptly opened. Emilie quickly turned her head to find Vaas. But he was not alone, and he was not sober either. He wobbled from side to side trying to support a young woman by the arm. She seemed to be in a worse state. The two laughed stupidly trying to keep their balance. Vaas was trying to kiss the young woman’s neck.

**-I –want to- fuck- you.** He said in her ear.

The young woman, probably a prostitute according to Emilie, laughed foolishly. As if that was a compliment... Emilie cleared her throat to get the attention of the couple. Vaas turned his head to Emilie and looked serious. He looked like he had forgotten she was there. He gestured with his head indicating the bathroom. This gesture seemed like an order for Emilie. Go into the bathroom and do not come out before tomorrow morning. It almost meant that.

Emilie did so in silence, she had no choice. She closed the door to the room and sat down on the floor. She could hear everything that was happening in the next room. The forced laughter of that poor woman, the beastly growls and insults of the pirate. She was exasperated, they were acting as if she did not exist! Then she heard a high-pitched moan, the bed hit against the wall several times. Seriously! They could’ve found another place to do this! She was even more upset.

She could hear the sounds of that bitch. It sounded so fake, it was certain that she took no pleasure in that. And the other one played to his heart's content! What an asshole!

**-Ragh.** Emilie growled trying to cover her ears. **Shut up!** She shouted without being heard, obviously.

After a few minutes, everything stopped. At Last! She did not leave the bathroom, though. She lay on the floor and tried to sleep. It wasn’t long before she fell asleep thinking of nothing, hoping that tomorrow would be a better day. Vain hope, for sure...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading, as usual, please leave a kudo or a comment to let me know what you think!  
> Badi-otaku.


	22. Chapter 22

**-Hey, wake up.** He whispered gently shaking her shoulder. **Hey, Sleeping Beauty, wake up.** He insisted, shaking harder. **WAKE THE FUCK UP!** He shouted.

Emilie’s eyes opened hastily. Her lungs took a huge inspiration. A surge of fear ran through her, she threw her hand to hit the person in front of her. But he stopped her hand in time. He looked into her eyes, smiling.

**-Oh no, not this time, baby.** He said.

She came to her senses and quickly withdrew her hand from the pirate’s grip.

**-Vaas...** She murmured, looking at the young man squatting beside her.

**-No, it's Santa Claus!** He laughed, standing up. **Sorry to disappoint you, chica, it's me again.** He said, shrugging.

**-Sorry... I panicked.** She said, trying to sit up in turn.

**-Don’t worry, I'm used to that now.** He stated half leaving the room. **You still should calm down a little, you're rather paranoid when you sleep.** He laughed before leaving the room.

**-And with good reason…** She whispered to herself.

Emilie remained still for a moment to think. She was sitting on the floor of the bathroom. She had slept all night. She was exhausted and the pain was numbing her whole body. What a brilliant idea, sleeping on the floor! Actually, there was not much choice...

Emilie stood up with difficulty to head for the bedroom. Automatically, she fetched her clothes to get dressed. Once done, she went to take her hairbrush and red bandana in the bathroom. She then began to brush her hair, but her joints had decided otherwise. Her face twitched as she lifted her arm. No, it was too painful.

Vaas noticed her and decided to help a little. He gently patted the bed on which he was sitting and said kindly:

**-Sit down, I’ll do it.**

Emilie was surprised by his proposal. But she wouldn’t refuse it. She walked over to the bed and sat down. He positioned correctly behind her and took the hairbrush and the bandana she handed him. He then began to move the brush in the girl’s hair. He was quite gentle and careful much to Emilie’s surprise. But she suddenly felt he stopped.

**-Wow...** He said looking at the top of the girl’s head.

**-What?** She asked, trying to turn her head slightly.

**-You did not tell me you had a scar here.** He said.

**-Ah. Uh... well, it's not very important, is it?**

**-It's nice.** He said with a slight smile.

**-Uh... thank you, I guess.** She replied, not sure whether it was a compliment.

The mark was not very big, but it could be seen easily. It was perpendicular to the line of her hair and was about an inch long. Vaas seemed to like it, Emilie did not know why, it was just a scar. Emilie was motionless as he continued to comb her hair in silence. Vaas looked in a rather good mood, much to Emilie’s delight; she would not have to put up with him the whole day. When he was done brushing her hair, he tied it in a braid with the bandana. He was rather proud of his work.

**-Ta-dah!** He exclaimed.

She laughed slightly and ran her hand over her hair to get an idea of her hairstyle.

**-Thanks.** She said turning around.

**-¡No hay problema!** He replied, getting up and walking away.

Emilie watched him. It's crazy how his mood could change from one day to another, and even from one minute to the next! And it was quite comforting to see him like that.

**-So what do we do now?** She asked.

As soon as she asked this question, he turned around with a big smile.

**-Nothing.**

‘Nothing’? Like... nothing? Was he serious...? Wasn’t he the one complaining about all the work he had to do every day? Seeing Emilie’s questioning look, Vaas explained:

**-It’s Sunday.**

**-Ah, and on Sunday, nobody works, right?** She confirmed with a hint of mockery.

**-That's right.** He stated heavily laying on the couch, lighting a cigarette.

Emilie sat in her place a few minutes. The silence was total. She waited.

**-And therefore, we’re going to stay here, bored to death all day...?** She asked with the same mocking tone.

**-Find something to do.** He replied.

She looked around the room. Find something to do... She could draw, but she preferred to be alone to do it. She could read, but she doubted Vaas had books here.

**-Look there.** He said, pointing to the corner of the room where the TV was with a stack of DVDs. **Find a good movie to watch.**

Emilie got up and did so. She sat down and began searching in the clutter. She was surprised to find a lot of Disney films. She never thought that someone like Vaas watched movies like that.

**-You’re still watching kids movies?** She said, pointing to the box of the classic The Lion King.

**-Eh, I have the right to be nostalgic. Plus, it's a great movie.** He retorted by pointing his finger to Emilie in a falsely threatening gesture.

She chuckled and continued her research. She had almost seen all of them, from the horror movie to the action movie and animated film. But she finally found one. She took the box and showed it to Vaas over her shoulder without looking back.

**-Frozen, is it good?** She asked.

**-Let’s go for that one.** He said, rising and crushing his cigarette butt in the ashtray. **Although I do not really like the end when-**

**-NO! don’t tell me, I have not seen it!** She stopped him in his explanation.

**-OK OK, I won’t say anything... calm down.** He said, raising his hands as a sign of defense.

**-Sorry...** She said with an embarrassed smile. She had lost her temper a little, but she hated spoilers!

Vaas went to lie down on the bed while Emilie turned the TV on and started the film. She then went to settle in next to Vaas. While the film began, he put an arm around her shoulders to bring her closer to him. She tried to struggle at first but gave in to his embrace knowing that any attempt to get free would be vain.

After more than one hour, the film ended. The credits scrolled while Emilie straightened to get up. Vaas let her go, stood up and headed for the TV to turn it off. Emilie stretched and restyled her hair slightly.

She looked at Vaas storing the disc in its case. Everything seemed so... normal. She almost felt back in her everyday life. She had almost forgotten that she was living with a sadistic psychopath on an island that was lost in the middle of the ocean. Everything was normal, so normal that it was becoming weird.

**-Go to the warehouse, pick up the lunch.** He ordered, pulling Emilie out of her thoughts.

She nodded and complied immediately. She did not linger outside and went to see the cook. She greeted him as she entered the kitchen where she took two full plates and cutlery. Aaron also gave her a bottle of water for her and a bottle of beer for Vaas. She thanked him and hurried back once more.

When she returned, they settled both on the coffee table. Vaas was sitting on the couch and Emilie on the floor in front of him, as usual. They ate in silence until Emilie noticed Vaas was staring insistently to her cleavage. She felt uncomfortable and tried to pull her tank top up slightly to hide a little bit more of her skin.

**-Eh, I was watching.** He protested mockingly.

His behavior exasperated her. She did not think and replied immediately.

**-What, hadn’t you had enough with the bitch you fucked last night?!**

He was surprised by her reaction. He stood still a moment, staring at the girl before him. She may have exaggerated a bit, there. She felt he was getting upset. She definitely had to learn to think before speaking! She was waiting to know her fate. But suddenly, a smile curved his lips.

**-You 'jealous.** He said simply.

She reacted immediately.

**-What? No!**

**-Yes. You're jealous.** He kept laughing.

**-No! It's... just...** She groaned in frustration, feeling ashamed.

Vaas continued to laugh. SuperAsshole is back! Emilie could not put up with it. She got up and walked to the door to leave. Vaas called out before she got out.

**-Where are you going?** He shouted.

**-Where you won’t piss me off!** She replied by shouting and slamming the door.

Her answer annoyed Vaas who immediately got up to catch up to her. Who did she think she was to talk to him like that, that bitch!? But when he came out in turn, she was nowhere to be seen. She was fast. He walked in the aisles. However, he did not worry; he knew she could not go so far. He continued to look for her, a sigh escaping his mouth from time to time.

Vaas suddenly heard screams. He joined the noise source quickly. When he reached the main road, he saw Emilie arguing with one of his men. Several others, who were around them, looking at them sneering.

**-Eh, _Hermano, ¿qué pasa?_** Vaas intervened. ***what’s going on?***

Emilie immediately answered by pointing the pirate:

**-This dumb fucker just called me a whore!**

**-I’m saying the truth.** The pirate defended raising his hands.

**-Fuck you!** She replied.

**-Shut the fuck up both of you!** Vaas cried before approaching Emilie and stroking her cheek with his fingertips. **That's true,** he continued, **you're not a whore... You're _my_ whore.** He said with a mean grin.

She pushed his hand violently and gave him a glare. It even made him smile more and he added, addressing everyone:

**-Well, we’re gonna solve this quickly, you,** he pointed to the pirate, **do not insult _mi Querida, comprendes?_ ** He addressed this time to Emilie. **You, stop getting upset for nothing and go back to the room, _vale?_**

Both nodded but the pirate provoked Emilie again:

**-Still, I can fuck you when I want, bitch.**

It was too much for Emilie who threw herself on him screaming.

**- _J’vais t’crever, connard!_ *I’m gonna fucking kill you, asshole!***

She tried to hit him with her small fists but the man dodged every blow, laughing, which annoyed the girl further. Vaas, who was about to leave, turned at the sound and stated:

**-So, as you discuss my orders, we will solve this differently...** He thought a moment and turned to the crowd of pirates **. I suggest a fight, with bare hands. Whoever wins will do what he or she wants from the loser, it's simple.**

The pirates nodded shouting, stomping and laughing. Emilie began to worry, she had almost no chance against the man. She was afraid, but she tried to pull herself together. The pirate, as for him, was very confident and smiled from ear to ear. She wanted to protest, but Vaas had made his decision, now she could not turn back.

The pirate crowd formed a circle around the two combatants. Vaas positioned himself with the group, in the forefront to watch the show. Emilie stood before his enemy, she stared at him with a look full of hatred and anger. She was doing everything not to show her fear. She had sweaty hands and her heart was racing. She was animated by rage and anger. The man was still laughing, he was sure to beat her in two or three blows, it would be easy. Vaas raised his arms and shouted:

**- _Humbres! Vamos a contar hasta tres!_** **_Conmigo!_ ** ***Men! Let’s count to three! With me!***

**_Uno, Dos, Tres!_ **

Vaas quickly dropped his arms to signal the start of the fight.

Emilie immediately threw herself on the pirate who dodged her punch without problems before giving it back. He struck her violently in the jaw, she was a little stunned but quickly went back upright. This time she waited for him to strike. She did not have long to wait. He dealt her a huge blow to the nose. She felt the cartilage crack, the blood flowed. She put her hand on it as to stop the pain. Tears ran down her cheeks, mixing with her blood.

The pirate wasted no time and jumped back on her to slap her. She fell to the ground and he continued to give her kicks in the stomach. She spat a few drops of blood coughing. Vaas was still watching with a small smile on his lips. Emilie saw him, she looked at him. Why was he doing this? Why did he let her suffer? Normally, he would not let anyone touch her. He did not like anyone to touch his ‘things’. Normally, he would have defended her in front of that brute of a pirate. Why had he not?

Questions raced through her head as she was taking the blows one after the other. The man then stopped hitting her, thinking maybe she was unconscious. He waited until she moved again staring at her with a monstrous smile.

Emilie was standing up painfully. Her whole body was screaming in pain. She was almost unconscious but she had to stand up. She had to react. If she took one more blow, that would be her end. And she could not bring herself to let him win.

The pirates laughed seeing her struggle against pain and fatigue. Their serious and raucous laughter made her furious. They made fun of her, they were mocking her! The rage began to invade her, she wanted to kill them all, one by one. The man still provoked her:

**-Don’t worry, I will be gentler tonight, when I fuck you.**

The others encouraged him even more. He then jumped on her, preparing to deal her a powerful punch. The fatal blow was approaching. Do something, do something, now! An adrenaline rush allowed Emilie to dodge it. She bent down, passed under the pirate’s arm, stood up and hit him in the neck with her elbow. He was disoriented and a little stunned. He fell to the ground on his back. As he regained consciousness, she took advantage of it only to immobilize him by positioning herself on him, her legs on either side of his chest. She then tried to hit him with all her strength with her fists, but he took her wrists to stop her. She gesticulated, moving in all directions to try to free her hands. The man sneered, as everyone before this pathetic spectacle. She had taken over, and yet she could not do anything. But she thought for a moment, she had not her hands, but she had something else.

Without wasting more time, she leaned on the pirate, opened her mouth and bit his throat with her teeth. She squeezed, she squeezed as hard as she could. All the anger, all the hatred, all the rage she had accumulated was canalized into this thoughtless act. She felt the flesh tear under the pressure of her teeth. Blood spurted everywhere. Her mouth was full of it, heat and metallic taste excited her taste buds. She saw the red color spread all over her. And she loved it.

The man below her convulsed for a few seconds. He released her and stilled. Eyes wide, mouth wide open, he lay on the ground in a fresh pool of blood, dead.

Emilie sat straight, turned her head to the side and spit out a piece of bloody flesh on the red earth. She caught her breath with difficulty, while her upper body was stained with warm blood. Her face was completely covered in blood, giving her the appearance of an animal, a demon. She was still sitting on the lifeless body of her victim, she looked around her. All the pirates were silent, they were staring at her with a bewildered, shocked, frightened look. Silence, nothing but silence. She had just killed a man with her teeth, without mercy.

After a few minutes, she got up and began to leave. Her face was completely neutral. Passing by Vaas, she purposely bumped in him with her shoulder and continued on her way without looking back and without saying a word. He looked at her leaving, an uncertain look on his face.


	23. Chapter 23

Emilie entered the bedroom infuriated and slammed the door behind her. She ran into the bathroom. She rushed to the sink and turned on the tap to splash some cold water on her face. She rubbed her skin with all her strength to remove the blood that was already beginning to dry. She filled her mouth with water and spit it immediately to get rid of that horrible taste. But it was still here, there was nothing to do, the awful red liquid was still there, on her skin, on her clothes, in her mouth.

Emilie was crying. She was crying in disgust, rage and fear. What had she done? What had she done? She didn’t understand. Everything was happening so fast. She had killed a man... with her teeth. Like an animal! She was disgusted by herself. She, and this guy! This fucking son of a fucking bitch! VAAS! He forced her to do that, it was his fault!

The bathroom door opened. Emilie turned off the tap. She clung to the sink edges. Drops of water, reddened by the blood that stained her face, were still rolling down her face and went crashing into the white faience. She remained motionless.

Vaas had entered. He approached Emilie slowly. When he was behind her, he slowly reached out to touch her shoulder.

**-Quer-**

Emilie turned suddenly making a sweeping gesture of the arm to make Vaas step back.

**-Do. NOT. Touch me!!** She cried.

Vaas took a step back. He was surprised at first. Then his eyebrows furrowed and his look became serious. Emilie also walked away, she wanted to stay as far as possible from him. She wrapped her arms around her chest and squeezed tightly. She was shaking, her tears still flowed. She leaned against the wall behind her, feeling her legs weaken. Vaas tried a new approach.

**-Leave me alone...** These words came out in a low whine of her mouth.

Vaas did not pay attention to her words and continued to walk forward. When he was close enough, he tried to take her in his arms. She reacted immediately and violently pushed him with all her might. She looked into his eyes, holding her hands to her face and shouting:

**-Look at me! Look at what you’ve done! Look at what you’ve made ME become! A MONSTER!**

She began to sob sliding along the wall to sit heavily on the ground and curl up on herself. Vaas was silent a moment before continuing:

**-You aren’t a monster, you're a fighter, you're a** _survivor_ **...**

**-I killed a man!** She replied, showing her hands. **With that! With my hands and teeth like a FUCKING animal!**

**-He deserved it, this son of a bitch...** He replied.

As soon as she heard that, she sat up to get on her knees and continued shouting.

**-Then wh-** She stopped, took a deep breath and continued a little more quietly. **So why didn’t you do it yourself? Why didn’t you take out your gun to put a bullet between his eyes like you always threaten to do?** She began to scream. **Huh?! Why!?**

He knelt before her in silence. Emilie looked at him, waiting for his response. But it didn’t come. Instead, Vaas suddenly bent down to put his lips on the girl’s. The latter was surprised and tried to pull away but Vaas put a hand behind her neck to restrain her.

She did not let go and pushed him with her arms, giving him a few hits. He did not flinch, he continued to kiss her, trying to force the way into her mouth with his tongue. But Emilie clenched her teeth with all her might, waving her arms and legs to defend herself.

Vaas finally pulled away. His lips bent into a devilish grin. Emilie took a breath and shouted immediately:

**-What the fuck Vaas!?** She did not understand his action. Why had he kissed her suddenly?

He did not answer, and led a new assault. He attacked her lips once again. Emilie had no time to react that he held her arms firmly. Her legs were trapped between their bodies. Pain seized Emilie, her jaw had taken strong blows and the consequences were painful. Tears flowed even more as she could not do anything. He parted their lips only to attack her neck. He was kissing, biting and licking her skin that was still covered in blood. This was what he wanted... blood.

Emilie couldn’t do anything. She couldn’t stay stuck to this beast. She couldn’t stand his abuse.

**-V-Vaas...** She whined.

He had, for only answer, a feral growl. She swallowed and spoke again, with more authority:

**-Stop it. Vaas.**

No reply. He continued to kiss her lower and lower towards her breasts. He freed one of her arms to put his hand on her breast.

**-Vaas.** She took advantage of that freedom to push his shoulder violently. **Stop!** She Shouted. **Vaas!**

He finally parted. He had the same smile on his face. He wiped his mouth surrounded by blood with the back of his hand. He got up and left without saying anything, slamming the door behind him. Emilie was still shocked. She caught her breath slowly, staring at the door with a bewildered look. After a while, she burst into tears again. She curled, bringing her legs to her chest and wrapped her arms around them to hold them as tight as she could.

Vaas came back a few minutes later, accompanied by Agnes. She rushed into the bathroom to check on Emilie while he remained in the bedroom. Agnes closed the door behind her and knelt in front of Emilie, putting the medical equipment she had brought to the side to take Emilie’s hands in hers. She was totally distraught. And seeing her friend in this state didn’t help.

**-Emilie, are you o-**

She began to talk to her but Emilie cut her off. She looked up and got free from her grip violently.

**-No! Don’t touch me.**

Agnes insisted, thinking she had reacted impulsively.

**-Emilie... I just want to help.** She said, trying a new approach.

**-I do not need help! Stop trying to help me all the time! I- I can handle myself... I don’t need you!** Emilie Shouted.

Agnes stood shocked in front of her friend, her face was distorted by tears and beatings. She was taken aback by her reaction. She had never spoken to her like that. She was angry and shocked, but she just wanted to help! Without warning, Emilie pushed Agnes violently. She fell back, she sat up slightly leaning on her elbows. Her eyes were wide, tears were about to flow. Why had she done that? Her friend wasn’t herself anymore. What happened to the girl she knew?

**-Go away! Leave me alone! Get out! LEAVE ME THE FUCK ALONE!** She screamed.

**-Emilie.** Agnes tried again, pulling herself up.

Emilie immediately approached to push her once again more violently.

**-Go away, I don’t need you. Mind your own fucking business. YOU WHORE!**

It was too much. A tear rolled down Agnes’ cheek as she stood up shaking. Emilie looked at her with eyes full of rage and hatred. She had never looked at her like that.

Vaas entered the room without saying a word. He helped Agnes to get on her feet and got out with her, leaving Emilie alone. After closing the door, she heard the sound of the key that locked the door. Emilia soon realized he had locked her.

**-FUCK YOU!** She screamed as hard as she could for him to hear.

In the bedroom, Vaas was sitting on the bed, smoking a cigarette. Agnes was standing before him, she looked at him angrily. She had to talk to him.

**-Vaas,** Agnes began pointing to the bathroom door, **what is in this room, it's not Emilie...**

**-Really, I saw Emilie, and I don’t think I’m blind...** He responded with mockery.

**-Vaas. I'm serious. Did you see how she reacted in front of me, the way she looked at me, the way she talked to me? This is not her, and that's YOUR fault! You're making her-**

Agnes didn’t have time to continue Vaas cut her off:

**-I’m teaching her how to survive here! She must be respected and feared! I'm just ensuring that she doesn’t get eaten!**

**-No! You're just making her a monster! You're making her like...** She stopped dead, realizing what she was about to say.

**-Go ahead, say it!** He said, standing up abruptly.

He approached her slowly, not breaking eye contact. He suddenly grabbed her arm hard enough to leave a bruise.

**-Say it.** He growled again.

She hesitated for a few seconds, but she had to say it.

**-Like you! You're a monster, Vaas!** She cried, pulling from his grasp. **The Vaas that I have know-**

**-This Vaas no longer exists, Agnes!**

He was about to continue talking, holding his index finger to Agnes but stopped. He let his arms hang down his body, looking up and sighing loudly. He brought his gaze back to Agnes’.

**-This Vaas...** He began more gently, **was destroyed by Citra, this fucking bitch!** He began to scream. He waited a few seconds before adding: **And when you remove the good part of a person… then there’s only the bad part left...** He concluded.

Agnes was silent. He was right. But that it was not a reason to do the same to Emilie! Agnes did not know what to say. She thought, again and again, but what could she respond? She clenched her teeth and furrowed her eyebrows. She finally resigned. She turned and left without saying a word.

Along the way, Agnes burst into tears. However, she kept walking, trying to hide her tears. She ran across the only person she did not want to see at the moment. He quickly saw in what state she was and ran to meet her.

**-Sweetheart, are you okay?** He said, taking her hand.

She tried to get rid of his grip and turned her head. She did not want him to see her like this. However, he insisted, holding her firmly. She tried in vain to struggle a few seconds before giving up and throwing herself into the young man’s arms. She clung to his shirt with all her strength as she felt her legs let go.

**-Juan...** She cried.

**-I’m here, Sweetheart.** He said, trying to sooth her tears, stroking her hair softly and kissing her on the forehead.

She let go completely. She cried all the tears in her body. Juan did not know the reason for so many tears, but he would do anything to stop them. He held her in his arms to show her that he was there, with her.

After a few minutes, Juan led Agnes to the building that was used as an infirmary. There, they lay on the girl’s bed. Juan was still holding Agnes firmly to console her. She finally stopped crying and fell asleep in the young man’s arms.

He still had a lot of things to do today. But never mind, work would wait. All he wanted at the moment was for the sadness of his belle to disappear and let her smile illuminate her face again. Because he loved her smile.


	24. Chapter 24

She didn’t know for how long she cried, curled up in a corner of the room. A long time, for sure. She was no longer crying. Her senses had got the upper hand on her anger again. She was realizing her behavior. She was realizing what had just happened. Like getting out of a dream. But the dream was real. She couldn’t go back.

She could have continued to complain a long time. But the pain that was screaming throughout her whole body forced her to worry about her condition. She stood up from the floor with difficulty and headed to the mirror. There, she discovered the extent of the damage.

Her cheeks were puffy and red. Her left eye was black and swollen. Several small wounds tore her already damaged skin. Her jaw was adorned with huge bruises. She could hardly believe what her eyes saw, she slowly approached her face of the mirror to get a closer look. She tried to touch her wounds with her fingers, but a burning pain struck her. Her face tensed. What state she had put herself in...

She continued to look at her body, bruised by the blows. The more she looked, the more the tears started beading at the corner of her eyes. She didn’t even recognize her body, especially her face. This face was the one of a criminal, of a beast. She stared at her face covered in blood that crackled as it dried. The more she looked, the more the anger was rising inside her. She was angry, angry against that face. Her breathing was becoming faster and heavier. She kept staring until she could no longer.

Her anger erupted again. She punched the mirror violently. Her reflection broke. Blood flowed once again. Suddenly, nausea and took her, she ran to the toilet on which she leaned forward to vomit what she had in the stomach. The acid burned her esophagus, she coughed. Each time, her interior contracted and expelled outside the bottom of her inwards.

The torture finally stopped. She slumped down on the floor, leaning against the wall. She looked up and inhaled a large amount of air. She tried to calm down again. After a few minutes, her eyes fell on the medical equipment left by Agnes. She had to take care of her injuries.

She approached the pile, alcohol, clean cloth, bandages, thread and needle and painkiller drugs. She started to clean her wounds with water and then disinfect with alcohol. Most of the wounds were small enough not to need to be bandaged. She just wrapped her hands with bandages, where the wounds were the most important.

She was now almost cleared from the blood that covered her. But the pain was still present. She took the painkiller bottle and looked at the label. Morphine. It could ease the pain. She was about to open it but stopped. She did not take her eyes off the box. She thought again and again what she had done. Her feelings were mixed once again in her head. These things, she could use them for something else. The idea gradually blossomed in her mind.

She took out a dozen tablets in her hand. She stopped again to contemplate them. She thought again. Would she be brave enough to do it? Or on the contrary, was she enough of a coward? She raised her head and looked again at her reflection, distorted by the broken glass. She had the courage to kill a man, she would have the strength to take one more life, the _last_ one...

She raised her head and put a tablet in her mouth. Then she heard the door lock open. She lowered her head and spat the medication. She dropped the others in the basin of the sink, clinking against the faience. She turned to the door but remained motionless. Several seconds passed before the door opened very slowly, only a few inches. An arm passed through the small opening to drop a pile of clothes on the edge of the adjacent bath tub. The arm then disappeared and the door closed softly.

Emilie still remained motionless for a few moments before approaching the tub. She took the clothes. A red tank top and black pants. She didn’t think any longer and got changed. She felt much better when her clothes were not stained with blood.

Once dressed, she walked to the door to leave but stopped after laying her hand on the handle. He was in the other room. But she didn’t want to see him. She couldn’t face him. Not only because of her anger, but mostly because of shame. She was ashamed of the state she had put herself in. She feared his look, his judgment.

She let go of the handle and turned her back to the door. She slid down the door to curl up on the floor. The shame, the feeling that she hated the most. She had not even the strength to cry, she stood there, doing nothing, as if it was going to fix things.

She didn’t want to see him, though a part of her was eager to open the door and jump into his arms, crying all the tears in her body. She felt like only he could get her out of this pitiful state.

Long minutes went by before she stood up. She faced the door again. It was useless to stay here ruminating on her shame, she had to face it, face him... She put her hand on the handle. She exhaled heavily and turned it. The door opened slowly. She left the room, head down. Vaas was sitting on the couch just in front of her. A light smoke filled the room, Vaas was smoking. When he noticed her he raised his head to look at her.

**-You’re good? You calmed down?** He said as if scolding her.

It was what she feared. She turned her head to the side, unable to look at him. She tried to keep a steady breath and hold back her tears.

**-... Sorry...** She said softly as she walked towards the bed.

Vaas made a ‘tsk’ noise with his tongue, telling her to stop. She stopped, she finally raised her head to look at him. His expression was neutral, she didn’t like it. He gestured for her to come to sit next to him. She hesitated a few seconds before doing so. She gently sat on the couch. However, she stayed as far as possible from him. She lowered her head again and let her hands rest on her thighs, motionless.

Vaas sat up to get closer to her. She didn’t move. He reached for her face to grab her chin. He forced her to look up.

**-Raise your head.** He said simply.

She obliged. A long silence followed. Vaas took a drag of what it was smoking and expelled the smoke in a light cloud.

**-It felt so good...** She said looking ahead.

**-What did?** He asked simply. But he knew the answer.

**-When I killed that man... I felt so...** She lowered her head to lay her eyes on her open hands, **so… powerful...** She said, closing her fists.

Vaas smiled slightly. It was what he expected.

**-I had his life in my hands, nothing could stop me.** She continued. **All my anger was washed with blood.** She raised her head and turned to Vaas. **I loved the taste of his blood.** She finished almost whispering.

They stood still in silence again. Emilie kept on looking at Vaas as if calling for help.

**-I’m afraid, Vaas...** She said.

Finally, he turned to look at her. However, he did nothing. After a few moments, he held out his hand to her. What he held out in reality, was the joint he was smoking. Emilie looked at it and raised her head to look at Vaas. She hesitated. He gestured, urging her to take it. She reached out and took the thing. She put it to her mouth, still a little hesitant. She looked one last time at Vaas who nodded to encourage her.

She hardly ever smoked in her life, so she did not really know how to do it. She supposed it was just inhaling. He did it himself, so it should not be that complicated...

She took a puff of smoke. Immediately, she coughed. She then handed the joint to Vaas who took it. The smell was horrible, smoke clung to the walls of her lungs, she felt like choking. After a few seconds she calmed down and her breathing went back to normal.

She relaxed gradually. Perhaps too much, she felt her muscles unflex. The cushions of the sofa were becoming softer, the colors perceived by her eyes were becoming milder, the forms were more rounded. She rested a little on the couch. Vaas handed her the joint again. She did not think and took a deep breath. She coughed a little, but the sensation was exquisite.

Vaas smoked in turn and kept some smoke in his mouth. He leaned over Emilie to put his lips on hers. She did not hesitate and opened her mouth to let the smoke flow into her body. Vaas started a languorous kiss. Emilie put her hands on either side of his jaw. She felt move with force. They leaned a little on the couch, eventually lying.

They parted slightly. Vaas properly positioned Emilie to fit between her legs. He took another puff of smoke and rested his lips on the girl’s. The smoke that left in his lungs was expelled by his nostrils, surrounding them with a fluffy cloud of white smoke. Emilie seemed to become like smoke, light and volatile.

Vaas broke the kiss again to put the joint in the ashtray that was put on the coffee table. He then turned to Emilie again. Her head was resting on the armrest, her eyes were closed, her face relaxed, her chest moving in rhythm with her regular breathing. She had fallen asleep.

**-Fuck.**


	25. Chapter 25

Emilie woke up with a pounding headache. Actually, her whole body was aching. She tried to sit up slowly. No wonder she was hurting like that, she just slept on the couch, and probably for hours given how dark was the sky.

She sat on the couch for a few minutes to regain her senses. The pain lessened a bit but was still present. She finally managed to get up and walked up to the mirror in the other corner of the room. Her face was almost back to a normal appearance. The scratches had started to heal, the redness disappeared, only leaving the black eye.

**-How’s the face?** A voice behind her asked with a slightly mocking tone.

She turned when she heard Vaas’ voice. He just came out of the bathroom. He was only wearing boxers and his hair was wet. She looked away, blushing slightly, seeing that he was half naked. He laughed.

**-As shy as always, Querida...?** He mocked her.

She didn’t answer and took two steps forward to get away but Vaas blocked her way. He suddenly approached her. She backed up mechanically but she hit the table. Vaas brought his body a little closer to hers to whisper in her ear:

**-Now that you're awake, we’re gonna be able to continue what we were doing, huh?**

Emilie frowned. She put her hands on his chest to push him away gently. He straightened and looked into her eyes.

**-Don’t make that innocent face, Querida, you were quite horny a couple hours ago.**

He took Emilie’s hands in his and gently brought them to his mouth to drop light kisses on it. Emilie tried to remove her hands from his grip, to no avail.

**-What were we doing?** She asked, worried, although she probably knew the answer.

Suddenly, he let go and hooked his hands below her knees to lift her and sit her on the table. Emilie let out a gasp of surprise. He suddenly pressed himself against her, muttering with a lust filled voice:

**-What do you think...?**

Emilie could already feel the excitement of the pirate pushing between her legs. She put her hands on his shoulders to push him away. Not only did she not want him right know, but she was also in terrible pain.

**-Wa-wait a minute.** She said, motioning for him to stop. **Calm down, I- I don’t want to-**

She was trying to turn down the advances he was making towards her, unsuccessfully of course. He got even closer to nibble her earlobe. She could not suppress a moan. Oh, she loved when he did that. Her reaction made him smile, he kept trying to convince her while she was trying to stop him.

**-Come on...** He said.

**-No.** She replied.

**-Come on, won’t take more than two minutes...** He insisted.

As soon as she heard that sentence, she retorted with a huge insinuation:

**-Trust me, I know that.**

She drew his attention. He stopped and straightened.

**-What do you mean?**

She laughed slightly, he did not understand, too bad.

**-Never mind.** She said, still laughing.

She took advantage of Vaas’ inattention to get off the table. But she stopped laughing when Vaas pressed her violently against the dresser. Her face contorted with pain. Vaas closed in again to whisper in her ear.

**-I’m not do-**

He stopped when he saw that something had fallen from between the wall and the piece of furniture. The object caught his attention. Emilie, who was waiting for a new assault, was surprised when he walked away from her. He leaned toward the object.

**-What the...**

He was about to take it when Emilie realized it was her drawing folder. She suddenly panicked. He mustn’t see what it was, her thoughts rushed in search of a solution. She did the first thing that came to her mind. She embraced the pirate as closely as possible, slightly moving her body against his, letting out a moan.

**-Vaas...**

He gently pushed her away, without lifting his eyes from the object he held in his hands. What? He did not even flinch! A few seconds ago, he literally jumped on her!

He took the folder and lifted it from the ground. Emilie could not do anything. He opened it and looked at its content. Emilie stared at him, waiting.

After a few seconds Vaas looked up at her. He did not look angry, he did not look happy either, he was not surprised. Impossible to know what he was thinking, as usual. He pointed to the sheets of paper and asked:

**-Is that yours?**

She swallowed and nodded.

**-Beautiful.** He said simply before closing the folder and giving it back to its owner.

Emilie was motionless, still staring at Vaas. That was it? When she saw that he was heading toward the bed, she hurried to put the object back in its place. By the time she turned around, Vaas had already gone to bed.

**-You coming?** He said.

She hesitated for two seconds.

**-What time is it?** She asked, a little surprised.

**-Dunno, ten maybe...** He replied. **It is late enough to go to bed, anyway, so stop fucking around and come in the bed.** He ordered.

Although his authoritative tone did not please her so much, Emilie complied. She took off her clothes to get in pajamas but feeling how hot that night was, she was dissuaded to do so. She just kept her panties and slipped into bed after turning off the light. The room was almost completely dark. The pale light of the moon was obscured by heavy clouds.

Emilie turned to Vaas and curled up. He was lying on his back, arms along his body and was already starting to doze off. Emilie could not sleep. She looked at Vaas. She could not hate him. She had been angry a few hours, then nothing, as if everything was forgotten. But she knew there would be consequences, not with Vaas, but with Agnes. She realized what she had done, and she feared these consequences.

She was still staring at Vaas. She reached out to him to gently caress his muscular arm with her tiny hand. She pressed just enough to give him goosebumps. The room was silent.

**-Vaas?** She said in a whisper.

He answered with a simple growl.

**-Hmmm...?**

She continued to run her hand along his arm.

**-Do you think Agnes is mad at me?** She asked.

**-Hmmmm...** He was almost asleep, he did not answer.

Emilie’s hand went down along his arm to take his hand. She squeezed it as hard as she could and curled up beside Vaas. His warmth comforted her. She sighed and closed her eyes. After long minutes, trying not to think of anything, she fell asleep.

* * *

Emilie woke up in cold, empty sheets. Her vision was still blurry and her body numb. She sat on the bed with a sigh. The room was lit by a dim gray light. Emilie could see the overcast sky through the window. Everything was silent and calm.

Emilie got out of bed when she heard the sound of water flowing from the tap in the next room. She grabbed a piece of clothing that was lying on the ground before putting it on. The tank top was too big to be hers, but whatever, as long as it covered her. She went into the bathroom. Vaas was in front of the sink in the process of shaving.

**-Hey.** She said softly.

**-Hey.** He replied, continuing what he was doing.

She walked to the sink, grabbing the box of tablets laying there. She took one out and swallowed it with a glass of water. While she was doing this, Vaas was staring at her from the corner of his eye.

**-It’s useless if we don’t fuck.** He said.

Emilie could still discern a hint of frustration in his voice. She had no other response but sticking her tongue out to him. He simply laughed. Phew! He hadn’t taken offense... She then prepared to leave but Vaas stopped her.

**-Wait, as you're here, you're gonna help me.**

Emilie turned and waited for him to tell her what to do. He rinsed his face with water and took the soap on the edge of the sink to spread it on the short hair that grew around his mohawk.

**-I need you to shave it.** He said, pointing to his hair.

Emilie nodded, a little surprised. Couldn’t he do it alone? Emilie walked up to him and took the razor he handed her. She then began to run it over his head, taking care not to hurt him. She passed very slowly around his scar. She also was careful not to cut the hair that formed the mohawk at the top of his head.

When she finished, she washed and put the razor down. Vaas rinsed his head and dried himself with a towel before looking in the mirror to check Emilie’s work. He nodded his head. It was much better that way. He then turned to her and noticed she was wearing his tank top. He held out his hand. Emilie did not understand his gesture.

**-You know all too well how I love to see you in my clothes, but can you give me my shirt back, please?** He said with an authoritative tone.

She lowered her head to look at the garment. She was quite surprised, without thinking she took the tank top off, exposing her chest to the eyes of the pirate who could not help smiling. When she realized the reason of that smile, she tried to cover her chest with her arms, blushing.

Vaas sighed and started to laugh. He approached Emilie and tried to pull her arms away from her body. They were firmly pressed to her chest, but she gave way quickly. He raised her arms to wrap them around his neck. He clung to her, placing his hands behind her back. He then whispered in her ear:

**-A body like yours, baby, it is not to hide.**

She squeezed him harder, feeling his breath rolling over her skin. He smiled and kissed her neck. She was trapped in his arms once again, he held her prisoner of his embrace. She could do nothing but respond to his kiss. She first kissed his cheek. He pulled away from her neck to kiss her on the lips. The kiss soon became more languorous, sensual, torrid.

Suddenly there was a knock on the door. The two parted, hearing a rather high pitched voice speaking through the door.

**-Sir! Hoyt wants to see you. He says it's urgent.**

The person seemed pretty distraught. Emilie recognized Jonnah’s voice, the young pirate she had met a few days earlier.

**-I’m gonna kill that brat one day.** Vaas mumbled through clenched teeth. **OK, I'm coming, tell him to wait!** He said, loud enough to be heard.

Vaas then wasted no time and put his shirt on. He went into the bedroom and fastened his weapons to his belt. Emilie looked at him. She said nothing, it then came back to her mind. She approached Vaas as he prepared to leave, and said in a hesitating voice:

**-Uh, do you think I can go and see... Agnes...?**

**-Yeah, do whatever you want, you're a big girl, Querida.** He said, patting her head as he would do with a dog.

In haste, he had not understood the true purpose of her question. Emilie said nothing more. He hurried out and closed the door behind him. Emilie got dressed immediately, with clean clothes, not like Vaas.

She then went to the door but hesitated to get out for a few seconds. She was afraid, she had not been out since... the event. She was afraid of what she would find outside. But what could she find except for a camp filled with pirates? Nothing, but that was what frightened her. And how would Agnes react? She was smart, she would forgive her for what she had said, what she had done, right?

Emilie finally decided to come out. Outside, everything was normal, although she crossed the path of a few pirates that looked at her strangely. She continued nonetheless on her way to the infirmary. But at the corner of an alley, she saw a group of three men. They were chatting randomly. Curious, she stopped and hid behind a wall, watching them.

**-Yeah, they say that she ripped his throat.** One of them said, gesturing with his finger on his throat.

**-With her teeth...** Another one added. **In less than two seconds he dropped dead.** He finished.

They were talking about her. She should have continued her way, she had thought about it, but she remained here for an unknown reason. They continued their conversation.

**-Fuck... That idiot, he always had a knack for getting himself into shit**. The third said, thinking back to the man who might have been his friend. **But I'd rather die by a bullet in the skull than end like this.** Emilie’s heart sank, it was a horrible death.

**-Does his family know?**

She stopped breathing altogether. Her heart skipped a beat. He had a family? Emilie could not help picturing this. A broken family, a woman in tears hearing about her husband’s death, children left without a father. All this because of her. It was HER fault. Emilie left, trying not to cry. She tried to get away as fast as she could but she could still hear the voices of the pirates.

**-I don’t think so...** One answered.

**-Fuck. That bitch is fucking scary...** Another one said with a hint of fright.

**-It's okay, she's just a kid. Vaas will take care of her, she will be six feet under in no time...**

Emilie continued to walk, quickening her pace. She was finally nearing her goal. She stopped and looked around. She then walked to the door, hesitant. Once there, Emilie knocked gently, putting her ear to the door.

**-Agnes...?** She said.

She got no response for a few seconds. Maybe she was not there, it would be really good actually. She tried to get away but she heard Agnes mumbling:

**-What do you want?** Her voice was cold.

Emilie failed to prevent a tear from running down her cheek. She had never spoken to her like that...

**-I…** She did not know what to say. The words were held prisoners of her horribly dry throat. She remained silent.

Suddenly the door opened. Emilie jumped slightly and looked at the person in front of her. Agnes had appeared, Emilie clearly see the tears that had flowed down her face. She had never seen her cry. And even after hours, she continued to cry.

**-Don’t worry, I got it.** She spat before attempting to close the door.

Emilie stopped her.

**-Wait!** She said, holding the door. **I-**

She was cut off by Agnes who stood behind the door, Emilie could not see her, she only heard her hateful voice.

**-Don't tell me you're sorry. I do not believe a word.** She stopped a few seconds before speaking again. **When you said it, you thought it.**

**-No! I was angry, I was terrified! I killed a man, Agnes!** Emilie shouted, trying to convince her.

**-And that's precisely the problem.** She appeared again, opening the door. **I tried to warn you, Emilie, now it's too late.** She waited a few seconds. **It made short work of you.** She finished before closing the door.

Emilie remained motionless. Then she cried. She leaned against the door as if that could bring Agnes back.

**-Agnes... please... I-I need you, I’m- I'm afraid.** She said, sobbing. **I don’t know how I can tell you this. I- I'm sorry...** She said. **What else can I say...?** Her voice was desperate.

She did not answer. Emilie waited, but eventually gave up with a sigh. She walked away reluctantly, but turning around, she came face to face with Juan. His eyes were full of anger. She remained motionless before him.

**-What are you doing here?** He said sharply.

**-Uh-** She did not know what to say. But he interrupted her.

**-She has already suffered enough like that, leave her alone.** He ordered before walking next to Emilie, jostling her voluntarily. He stopped again and turned. **If you make her cry again, whether or not you're with Vaas, I’ll make you cry too.** He finished before continuing his way to enter the building.

Emilie stood still. Why everyone was mad at her? Why? This wasn’t supposed to happen! She did not want anything to happen. She did not want to lose a friend, she did not want to make people mad!

Emilie started crying again. She ran up to Vaas, the only person who was willing to approach her. Her vision was blurred by tears. But she could feel them. She felt those looks, full of judgments, hatred and fear. Everyone hated her!

She quickly entered Vaas’s room. He was there, she stopped for a second, and he stood up. He barely had time to ask what had happened when she threw herself in his arms. She squeezed him with all her strength and buried her face in the crook of his neck. Just the touch of his skin and the smell of his body soothed her tears. He wrapped his arms around her waist and waited for her to calm down, swaying slightly from side to side as if to rock her.

**-Everyone hates me...** She sobbed.

He did not answer, he waited. When she finally calmed down, they parted. However, she left his hand on her shoulder. He stared at her with his beautiful eyes. Emilie could not get her eyes off his. They were like bonded one to another by an invisible and yet immense force. Their souls revolved around each other’s. All their cells were dependent on each other’s.

And after a few minutes of complete silence and intense looks, she smiled. A sweet and bright smile. A beautiful smile.

**-Do you like cinema?** He asked.


	26. Chapter 26

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay, guys. This one was extra-cringy to re-read...

**-What?** She asked, surprised.

Emilie frowned. Why did he ask her this question?

**-Do you like cinema?** He asked again, more clearely, certainly thinking she hadn’t heard him right the first time.

**-Uh... yeah, I guess...** She replied, still quite confused. **But why do you ask that?** She said as he started to smile.

He did not answer immediately and walked away from her first. She stayed where she was, waiting for an answer. He walked to the closet and opened it. He pulled out a knife and a holster belt. He handed the objects to Emilie. She looked at him for a few seconds with doubtful eyes. Then she finally took it.

**-Put that on, we’re going out.** He said with a smile on his face.

Emilie complied. He still did not answer, he was keeping the suspense going until the end, didn’t he? Once her weapon was hung to her belt, she looked at herself in the mirror. This things around the waist felt weird. She put her hand on the weapon, she had never used a knife... at least not to hurt...

He must trust her enough to let a weapon like this in her hands. And why had he given it to her, by the way? Are they going to have to fight someone? Emilie started to worry.

**-You coming?**

She was pulled out of her thoughts when Vaas called her out. She turned towards him. He was already about to go out. Emilie wasted no time and followed him. They began to walk, following the camp's alleys. But questions still remained in her mind. She had to ask him:

**-Where are we going? Why do I have to carry a knife? Are we going to fight?**

Vaas slowed down. He was bombarded with questions, and he hated that.

**-Calm down.** He said with a slight growl.

**-But you never answer my questions! You're always there, being all mysterious and shit! I hate when you do not answer my questions!**

He sighed, rolled his eyes and stopped before turning around:

**-And I hate when you’re being a bitch! Shut up and keep walking.**

She was surprised and insulted.

**-A what? A ‘bitch’?** She almost shouted, crossing her arms over her chest.

**-Yeah, a bitch, exactly.** He replied, crossing his arms too, his lips curling in a sign of provocation.

She let out a nervous sigh. By what right did he insult her? She just asked him a question! He had made her mad in a split second.

**-Well guess what...** She walked past Vaas, jostling him with the shoulder voluntarily. **Fuck you.** She finished and kept walking the way they started. He followed a few steps behind her, she refused to look at him.

**-And where are you going like that?** He asked, laughing.

**-To the place you do not want to tell me about.** She replied immediately.

**-And how do you plan on going there if you don’t even know where it is?** He continued his provocation.

Emilie stopped. He was right. This dick was right! She turned to him, she opened her mouth to speak, but no words came out. What could she say? She looked like an idiot again, she hated that! She began to walk back to the shack. But Vaas held her back, laughing.

**-Hold on! Ok, fine, you've the right to ask one question.** He said, stretching his index finger.

She paused and thought. Only one?

**-Where are you taking me?** She asked.

**-We’re going to PC.** He simply replied before continuing their way, dragging her by the arm.

Fuck! He was mocking her again! Argh, she wanted to strangle him, take his little head and smash it on the ground! But she did nothing. She followed him like a well-trained animal. Actually, she wanted to go there, ‘PC’. Even if she was afraid of what she was going to find there, she wanted to check it out. She sighed, he had won this time.

**-I hate you.** She said coldly as they continued to walk.

Vaas did not answer, he smiled. If only she knew how many times a girl had told him that... He loved it.

They kept on walking. As they approached the camp entrance, a pirate stared at them. He glared at Emilie. But as soon as she noticed him, he looked away. Emilie looked down and took Vaas’s arm and squeezed it gently. He glanced at her briefly, then looked forward again, saying nothing.

The silence was almost total in the camp. The air was heavy with humidity. It was dark, thick grey clouds still covering the blue sky. A thunderstorm was coming it seemes. Emilie continued to follow Vaas. They went out of the camp, to the beach.

Emilie was surprised when she realized they would go afoot. After a moment, Emilie let go of Vaas’ arm. She was a little more relaxed. They were alone walking along the shore, the silence was total, except for a few animal noises. Emilie observed the landscape around them. The jungle on one side, the sea on the other.

Suddenly, a loud growl echoed. The jungle birds flew all at once in a hubbub of squawking. Deer and doe rushed out of the thick forest. Emilie jumped and got closer to Vaas, grasping him tight again. Another series of grunts followed, along with another animal’s desperate cries. And suddenly, nothing. Everything got calm and quiet again, but the atmosphere was terrifying.

Vaas took Emilie’s hand off of him. She turned her head towards him, letting out a quiet ‘sorry’.

**-The jungle is not very welcoming, is it?** He said, laughing.

She let out a small approving laugh. It's the least you could say.

**-We’ll be there soon.** He added.

Already? They’d only walked for a few minutes... At one point, they walked under a big arch-shaped rock. Emilie looked up, impressed. A few more steps and they found themselves in front of a small pond surrounded by rocks.

Vaas stopped. Emilie did the same. She observed what was before her. In the background, she could see a small entrance piercing a thick dark wall that seemed to close a cave. In the water, a few inches below the surface, she could distinguish large concrete blocks arranged randomly, as if they had collapsed.

Vaas stepped on one of these blocks, motioning for Emilie to follow him. She complied. The surface was extremely slippery, Emilie was careful with every step and held her arms out not to lose her balance. Vaas was more at ease, he almost jumped from block to block. And when they had almost reached the entrance, the inevitable happened, Emilie slipped and fell forward. Vaas caught her just in time.

**-Careful!** He said.

She stood up quickly. She thanked the pirate with a nod. They kept walking until they arrived in front of the opening of what seemed like a cave. They stepped inside. Emilie shivered when she heard screams. They continued walking slowly. Emilie explored every corner of the place with her confused, frightened eyes.

Her heart was pounding. Every sound you could hear was reverberating against the walls of the cave, creating loud noises. Candles were placed on the ground, the moving flames projected strange a glow on the walls. The atmosphere was frightening, terrifying even.

Then, they entered a room. There were dozens of rusted iron cages stacked, surrounded by barbed wire. Inside were wild animals or hostages. The grunts and whimpering filled the space.

They passed a chair around which were installed a lamp and a camera. Behind the chair was a large white cloth, torn in some places. Emilie looked back at the room they had just crossed. Vines covered the stone walls that were made shiny by the water that oozed from it. The floor was wet as well, some stagnant puddles were forming in places where the ground was hollow.

Before moving into another room, Emilie brought her gaze to the hostages in the cages. They were terrified, as usual. They passed a kind of wall made with white cloths to enter a larger room. Here, a large cloth was hung in front of a projector that lit it with a bright blinking light. There were several tables on which were put various objects that were not necessarily linked to each other. You can say it was a mess.

The voices of the pirates were increasingly louder and clearer as they moved forward. They passed through a narrow corridor lit by small candles. Then they went through a door that led them to an intersection. Emilie saw some pirates in a sort of small recess on the left. She looked down but they barely noticed her as they were too busy playing poker or watching TV.

Emilie followed Vaas as he turned right. They entered a large room. Pirates were many here, all busy. Huge pallets carrying dozens of pounds of drugs were scattered everywhere. In the back of the room, Emilie saw a small installation that was surely used to manufacture the drug. She looked up a little, there was a kind of half floor which was accessible by a staircase on the right. There, a pirate was talking to another one, he looked pretty authoritarian. He was probably the leader here.

When Vaas and Emilie approached, he noticed them and dismissed his subordinate before walking down stairs to meet them. Emilie was staring at him. He was a black man in his thirty years, he had approximately the same stature as Vaas, his hair was cut short. He had a playful step and a jovial look on his face.

When the two pirates were close enough, they greeted each other friendly by shaking hands and giving themselves a pat on the back.

**-Vaas! It's been a while.** He said moving away slightly. **To what do I owe this visit?** He said with a slight mocking tone, which made Emilie laugh, actually.

**-Work, hermano... Always work…** Vaas replied with a shrug.

The pirate then looked at Emilie. His smile widened and he looked back at Vaas before starting:

**-Well, it seems like you’re enjoying yourself!**

Emilie frowned. Now he was becoming annoying.

**-Yeah, this is Emilie, she works with me.** He answered, pointing towards Emilie. **Querida, this is Ray, the worst son of a bitch I know.** He said, laughing.

The other laughed in turn before responding sarcastically:

**-Thanks, that's too much honor to receive such a compliment from you.**

Emilie smiled a little again. He turned to her to take her hand, bending slightly to give her a very respectful kiss on the hand. He added, looking into her eyes:

**-Raynard Smith, at your service, Madame.**

His mocking tone managed to make her smile. He let go off her hand and straightenned up. Vaas slightly stepped forward as if to interpose between them. Emilie thought she discerned a hint of jealousy in his gesture, just a hint. Ray raised his hands in surrneder.

**-Chillax, man, I'm not gonna steal her.** He stated.

**-‘Think your balls would appreciate.** Vaas said in a slight threatening tone.

He took Emilie's hand before talking to Ray again.

**-Tell me, don’t you have one or two newcomers, I’m bored.**

**-I think two just arrived, some filthy rich white Americans, just like you love them.** He replied, rubbing his hands. **I’m bringing you one right away.** He finished before getting upstairs to disappear behind the wall.

**-Perfect.** Vaas said to himself, a big smile on the lips.

Emilie’s eyes remained stuck on his hand holding hers. He had never taken her hand like that, it was a kind and gentle gesture she’d never seen Vaas giving. But there it was, his warm hand holding hers firmly.

She was taken out of her trance when Vaas started walking, leading her towards where they came from. She followed him without saying anything. Vaas was smiling. Then they came back in the first room. They posted themselves in front of the chair and the camera Emilie had seen before.

Vaas began to move the chair to move it so that it was not wobbly and went behind the camera to turn it on and adjust it. Emilie watched him curiously.

**-What are you going to do?** She asked.

He smile even wider before answering:

**-‘See, Querida, that's my favorite activity.** He turned to her before continuing. **We’re gonna film our guests’ ransom videos. You know, filming these motherfuckers is an art, it's actually quite complex.** He said with a slight irony, Emilie laughed. **Fortunately, you have before you the best in this domain.** He finished by showing himself.

**-Vaas, I brought your actress.**

Ray appeared in the room, holding a girl in tears by the arm. Emilie gulped at the sight. Vaas took her in turn to make her sit on the chair and Ray tied her wrists to the armrests.

**-Gracias Hermano.** Vaas said, standing behind the camera.

**-See ya.** Ray replied before leaving.

Emilie was still staring at the hostage who was trying to break free, sobbing and whining. She did not remember having been filmed when she was a hostage, but she remembered the fear, anxiety and anger you felt when you were in front of Vaas. ‘When she was a hostage...?’ Wasn’t she still a hostage? Given her condition, it didn’t seem like it. But if she was not a prisoner, what kept her from leaving?

Fear, perhaps... The fear of leaving, cross the ocean to go home. Or just go home. The fear of other people’s look, her family’s look when she would return alone.

Or... attachment. After all, she was quite used to live here with him. She was used to him, to his presence. She hardly dared imagine living without him now. She was so attached to him that actually... she loved being with him, she loved the way he spoke. She liked his nature, she loved his look, she loved his warmth. And even if she would never dare to say it, well maybe she lov-

**-Please, don’t hurt me...** The young, sobbing woman’s complaints broke her train of thoughts.

She quickly came back to reality. Vaas had turned the camera on and it was already filming the hostage. She kept on repeating these words Emilie herself had once spoken.

**-Please, don’t hurt me...**

Vaas approached her, crouched in front of her to be at the height of her eyes and took her chin between his fingers to raise it gently.

**-Shhhh... Nothing bad will happen to you, Chica.** He tried to calm her, she cried more. **Tell me your name.** He continued speaking quietly.

She shook her head. She would not tell him anything. Vaas sighed and stood up. He forced her to look up at him and tucked her hair away from her face.

**-I need to know your name, Chica.** He said in the same tone, keeping his patience.

**-Why?** She retorted.

**-To tell your mom and dad where you are. You want to go home, right?**

The look of the hostage seemed to light up with hope for a few seconds. She nodded.

**-Well, then what is your name, Chica?** He asked again, stroking her cheek.

**-Rose.** She replied, although still reluctant. **Rose Taylor.** She added, trying to get away from his hand.

He walked away from her and went to the camera. He then took it off the tripod on which it was put to take it in his hand and bring it closer to the girl. He turned to Emilie to stated:

**-Watch and learn.**

Before turning to the hostage once again. He cleared his throat and began:

**-So, Chica... Rose, right? You're going to repeat after me, okay? I want you to say: ‘Mom, Dad...’**

Emilie watched all his doings. He walked around his hostage slowly. He spoke softly, almost whispering. The hostage refused to do what he said.

**-Why...?** She said.

Vaas sighed again but he kept cool.

**-Do what I tell you to do, Rose, and everything will be fine, okay?**

**-Tell me what you want!** She screamed as a tear ran down her cheek.

This time, Vaas’ patience flew away. He violently grabbed her neck and she began to cry even more.

**-I’m the one who gives the orders here, pera! So you do what I tell you, and nothing else! Comprendes?!**

She nodded weakly. More tears followed. Vaas calmed down again and let go. The hostage then looked at Emilie. A look full of fear, hatred, but also incomprehension. Emilie looked away. Vaas continued.

**-Look at me, Rose.** He said sharply.

She complied.

**-Your parents will see this video, vale? So tell them everything I tell you to say. Got it?**

She nodded again. He smiled.

**-Fine.** He took a deep breath and continued. **And... action.**

The hostage gulped and began to speak, sobbing.

**-Mom... Dad...**

**-That’s good.** Vaas whispered. **More tears.** **Say: ‘I was taken hostage, they ask for 500,000 dollars.’**

The hostage’s eyes widened hearing that. She was ready to protest, but Vaas called her to order with a threatening look. She swallowed again before continuing.

**-I- I was taken hostage...**

Vaas nodded encouragingly.

**-They ask for 500,000 dollars.**

**-‘within three weeks.’**

**-Before three weeks.**

**-Otherwise...** Vaas ran his thumb under his throat as if to imitate a slaughter.

The hostage sobbed louder.

**-Please, get me out of here... I wanna go home... I love you...**

Vaas’ smile widened, it was perfect. He turned off the camera and laid it on the tripod. He called Ray, who immediately came and untied the hostage to take her to another room. Emilie was motionless, staring at the hostage. Vaas turned to her, spreading his arms victoriously.

**-So?** He said.

She came out of her trance and looked at him. He had a big, wide smile. He seemed in a good mood. She smiled at him in turn.

**-Impressive.** She replied simply.

He then approached her to put his arm around her shoulders. Emilie put her arm around his waist and let her head rest on his shoulder. Her gestures surprised Vaas.

**-Well, ‘don’t know about you, but I’m starving!** He stated, starting to walk, leading Emilie in the next room.

**-Same.** She said, smiling.


	27. Chapter 27

Vaas and Emilie went on their way through the cave. There was practically no one there, the few remaining pirates looked at the both of them without really caring. But Emilie looked down mechanically.

They went up the small flight of stairs, passed the back door to cross a long, narrow room. There, three pirates were sitting at a table, eating lunch while watching TV. Then, they proceeded into another room, it was full of huge stacks of what she assumed to be drugs. Emilie was rather impressed by the amount, she wondered what drug it was, cocaine, weed, maybe...

Finally, they reached the exit of the cave. Some pirates were stationed to watch the surroundings, assault rifles in hand. The place was a kind of bay. There were several small buildings on stilts. The wood of these buildings looked old and humid. Emilie did not really want to venture inside. But Vaas dragged her towards a hut. They were walking on the dock that connected the buildings together. The boards were only a few inches from the surface of the water. Some pirates they met along the way greeted them with a nod.

They entered one of the shacks, the largest one. Inside were several pirates, some were sitting at a big table to eat, others were lying on beds, sleeping or doing whatever it was that they did. In a corner near the table was a sort of kitchen with a fridge, a sink and a stove on which was placed a large pot.

Ray was there, he stood up from his chair when he saw them coming. Vaas let go of Emilie and gestured her to sit down before heading to the kitchen. She approached the table, immediately Ray pulled a chair from under the table and gestured Emilie to sit there, bowing down slightly and adding with a respectful tone:

**-Madame...**

She laughed and sat down. He gently pushed the chair under her as she sat. Once properly seated, he let go of the chair. She played along with him and, with a nod, she said, just as respectfully:

**-Thank you.**

He smiled.

Vaas turned and glared at Ray. He approached the table silently. He had two plates in his hands. While staring at Ray, he put a plate in front of Emilie, he almost threw it ordering:

**-Eat.**

She complied. She took a fork and began to shovel her food in her mouth. She was very hungry, and she had to admit, what was served to her was exquisite, although this was only simple spicy rice with some fish.

Ray suddenly grabbed the pirate who was sitting next to Emilie by the collar of his shirt to make him stand up. The man was surprised and wanted to protest but he did nothing and went to sit elsewhere, grunting. Ray then took his seat and looked at Emilie who was still eating. Vaas was sitting in front of her, he was still staring at Ray, watching him.

**-Does it taste good?** Ray asked Emilie.

She swallowed her mouthful and let out a satisfied "yeah". He had prepared the meal himself and he was rather proud of himself. He smiled and turned his gaze to Vaas, his smile turned into a provocation. Vaas frowned, he did not like it. He emptied his plate quickly. When Emilie had emptied hers, she looked everywhere around to find something to drink, water mainly, but everyone here seemed to drink beer.

**-Are you looking for something?** Ray asked seeing Emilie.

**-Where can I find some water? I am so thirsty.** She replied.

**-In the fridge, I’m bringing it right away.** He said, standing up.

Before he could do anything, Vaas got up and stated, faking a kind tone:

**-I’ll take care of it. Sit down.**

Ray smiled from the corner of the lips and sat down. Vaas went to the fridge to take out a bottle of fresh water. He handed it to Emilie. She took it and began to drink one, two, three sips without stopping. She was so thirsty, it was so good. She then put the bottle back on the table before replacing the cap.

Before she could remove her hand from the object, Ray took it intentionally touching Emilie’s hand, looking straight into her eyes. Vaas sighed, getting up quickly. He took their empty plates and tossed them in the sink with the rest of the dishes.

**-Go back to fucking work, you bunch of wimp!** He shouted to all the pirates who were in the room.

They all complied immediately, reluctantly. Vaas turned his head to Emilie and ordered sharply:

**-Get up.**

He looked very angry but she was not afraid. Actually, she laughed inwardly, she loved driving him crazy. The silly grin did not disappear from Ray’s face. He went to put the bottle back in the fridge before going out.

**-See you!** He said cheerfully before closing the door behind him.

Emilie and Vaas were alone now. Vaas went around the table to stand in front of Emilie. She did not get her look off him.

**-What game are you playing?** He asked with a sharp tone.

**-Nothing.** She replied with a defiant smile.

**-Don’t fuck with me!** He took a step towards her.

**-It’s okay… It's just for fun!** She replied. **We’re joking!**

**-I'm not fucking joking!** He shouted.

She laughed lightly before noticing:

**-You 'jealous.**

He sighed.

**-No, I'm not jealous!** He suddenly approached her and gripped her wrist tightly, startling her. **You’re mine, ‘got it,** he moved his face close to hers, looking at her in the eyes, **no one touches you except me.**

She smiled from the corner of the lips and gave him a suggestive look.

**-Say it again.** She whispered.

He pulled his mouth to her ear and whispered:

**-You’re mine...**

A familiar shiver ran along her spine. Her nerves made her muscles suddenly contract. She kissed him. Their tongues did not wait to meet up. Their bodies clashed when Vaas took her by the waist. She sighed. She wrapped her arms around his neck and continued to kiss him passionately.

Suddenly, he slammed her violently against the nearest wall. She moaned. He took the back of her knees to lift her and lock her legs around his waist. She caught her breath, smiling. He kissed her neck. Her scent was driving him insane. She could already feel his erection against her crotch. He ran his hands under her tank top, finding one of her breasts, his hand slid under her bra to caress it. She moaned again.

**-Vaas...**

His other hand came to rest in the curve of her back. This curve that made him crazy as well. His index finger caressed her skin along her spine. She grabbed his chin with one hand to kiss his lips again.

And the door opened.

**-Sir!**

Vaas suddenly dropped Emilie. She fell heavily on her feet. She quickly pulled her tank top back down. She then turned to the person who had just entered. Vaas crossed his arms, tightening his jaw. It was Jonnah, he had just entered the room, of course he understood that he had interrupted them. He was trying to find the words, looking down to avoid facing Vaas.

**-Uh... I-I'm sorry, I-**

**-What do you want?** Vaas asked with a frustrated tone.

**-Uh... I was sent- to tell you that- the second hostage was... ready...**

Even before Vaas answered, Jonnah disappeared through the door whispering yet another "sorry". Emilie Vaas looked at Vaas as if to say "what do we do?" Despite his frustration, he smiled slightly, they were going to have fun.

**-Come.** He said exiting the room.

She followed him. While walking, she tried to put her clothes back in place to look normal, as if nothing had happened. Her face had to be scarlet red right then because she was horribly embarrassed. They walked to get into the room where Vaas had already filmed the first hostage.

This time, a young man was sitting on the chair. Emilie was scrutinizing him. He looked to be in his twenties. As soon as he saw them coming, he began to shout.

**-What do you want from us, asshole? Release me, fuck!**

Vaas quickly arrived before him.

**-Wow wow wow, calm the fuck down!** He shouted in turn.

**-Where is she, what did you do to her, motherfucker?!** He continued.

**-Who are you talking about, you prick?**

**-Rose! Where is she?**

**-Aaaaaah.** He said before shrugging. **‘dunno.**

**-If you did anything to her, I swear I-**

Vaas violently slapped him. He coughed and spat some blood. Vaas started shouting, bringing his face as close to his hostage’s as possible.

**-Shut up! Shut the fuck up!**

His eyebrows were furrowed, his eyes were demonic. Anyone would have stopped breathing then. The hostage was no longer speaking. Vaas moved away from him to go behind the camera. The hostage turned his head to Emilie, he stared at her with a scornful look. She did not like that, she actually did not like his behavior. She moved closer to Vaas who took the camera in hand and began to approach the hostage.

He suddenly stopped, thinking for a few seconds. He then turned to Emilie and said:

**-You know what? Here.**

Vaas handed the camera to Emilie and placed it in her hands. She was a little surprised.

**-Uh... You want me to do it?** She asked hesitantly.

**-Yeah.** He replied with an encouraging tone.

**-But... I don’t know... well...** She did not dare to.

**-Yes, you can do it, Querida...** He approached her. **You ask his name, you tell him to repeat everything you say, you make him cry, that's all.** He said as if it was the simplest of things.

**-Uh... OK.** She finally said before taking a step towards the hostage.

Vaas held her a moment to whisper in her ear:

**-If you do it well, you’ll get a reward...**

She smiled. He let her go. She walked to the hostage who was looking at her with the same glare. She wanted to slap him too. He looked like an asshole, a prick. She looked back at him before turning the camera on.

She remembered all of Vaas’s gestures and words. She turned her head, he looked at her, arms crossed, a small smile on his lips. It could not be that complicated, she just had to do what Vaas did. Do what Vaas did.

Emilie closed her eyes and took a deep breath she slowly released, opening her eyelids again. She raised her camera and began filming while approaching the hostage. A smile appeared on her lips. She took a playful tone and began:

**-So, what's your name, honey?**

**-Why? Do you give a fuck about it?** He replied sharply.

She laughed.

**-OK. You're upset, I understand, but if you could cooperate, it would be great for me...** She said, with an ironic tone. **Then you're gonna be a good boy and tell me your name, got it.**

**-Evans... Derek Evans.** He replied nonchalantly.

**-OK. So now you're going to repeat everything I say...** She began.

**\- "You're going to repeat everything I say."** He said.

He was mocking her. _Is he serious now?_ _He is a kid or something?!_ She breathed and kept her cool.

**-It's not funny...** She said.

**\- "It's not funny..."** He continued with a provocative look.

**-Oh! Shut up, you little bastard!** She cried, hitting him with all her might.

He lurched to the side. She had hit him right in the jaw. He moved his jaw a bit to ease the pain and straightened to shout:

**-You whore!**

She took a false offended look.

**\- "You whore"?** She sighed before confessing. **Someone called me that, once. And it did not go very well, trust me honey.**

**-Stop calling me that...** He said through gritted teeth.

**-I can call you what I want!** She replied.

**-What’s the thing? You pretend to be the leader, is that it?!** He began shouting. **You think you're important because you suck his dick!?** He said showing Vaas with a nod.

The latter took a step forward and unfolded his arms hearing his provocation. In fact, he was curious to see how Emilie would react.

Emilie remained shocked for a moment before tightening her jaw and raising her arm to hit him. Dereck closed his eyes in preparation for the blow but Vaas held Emilie’s arm. She was surprised again, she turned to Vaas. He took the camera to put it back on the tripod. He did not let go, Emilie looked at him questioningly.

**-Ray!** Vaas called.

The pirate appeared within a few seconds.

**-Yeah?** He asked.

**-We’re done, bring him back.** Vaas ordered not letting his eyes off Emilie. **And, tell Jonnah to join us here.**

**-No problem.** He replied before releasing the boy and pulling him into the other room.

The hostage was trying to struggle, staring at Emilie with a hateful look. She could almost hear him growling threats.

Vaas finally let go Emilie’s arm and began:

**-Well, I have to admit that this one was not easy, my bad, but you got the thing...**

**-Why did not you let me hit him?** She asked.

He sighed.

**-We mustn’t damage the goods too much, Querida.** He said simply.

No, it was not the only reason...

**-But you did pretty well.** He added, patting her shoulder.

**-So... I will have my reward... right?** She asked with a smile.

He smiled back.

**-‘Course.**

They kissed briefly. Vaas then approached the entrance to the other room to see if Jonnah was coming. He was, walking down the stairs slowly.

**-Eh! Hurry the fuck up, we haven’t got the whole fucking day!** He shouted.

He quickened considerably his pace. He nearly tripped when he arrived in front of them. Vaas rolled his eyes before turning around to take the path to the exit. Emilie followed automatically. Jonnah did the same.

They walked back to camp. Vaas was walking ahead, Emilie walked a little behind and Jonnah was yet behind. They walked in silence, but after a while Jonnah accelerated to catch up with Emilie. He then started the conversation.

**-is it true what they say?** He asked.

**-What?** She didn’t know what he was talking about.

**-Is that true that you killed a guy with your bare hands...?** He asked with a marveled look.

Hearing this, Vaas turned his head to look over his shoulder. Emilie hesitated a little moment and finally said:

**-Yeah.** She was not very proud.

**-Sweet!** He said with admiration. **I would have loved to be there to see it!**

Emilie was surprised at his reaction.

**-And, there was blood and everything... it spurted?** He asked, joyful.

Emilie was a little uncomfortable, his questions were odd. She swallowed and looked away.

**-Jonnah...** Vaas intervened.

**-Yes, Sir. What is it, do you want something?** He asked innocently.

**-Shut up a little, will you...** he said.

**-Uh... sorry...**

He lowered his head. Emilie laughed slightly and they continued their walk in complete silence.


End file.
